Smoking has already been identified by numerous publications and journals as one of the top risk factors for the development of heart and cardiopulmonary diseases. This rationale has been used by policy makers to make policies and ordinances that prohibit the act of smoking tobacco products in public places. Unfortunately, some countries are yet to follow suit. Their ordinances and legislations’ laxity against the spread of second hand smoke are evidenced by the fact that smoking in public places are not yet fully enforced. In an academic journal published in the Journal of American Association in 2006, the authors reviewed the effects of these legislations against the spread of second hand smoke by comparing the respiratory symptoms, pulmonary function, and markets of inflammation among bar workers before and after a legislative ban on smoking in public places.
The study was conducted in Tayside, Scotland over a five month course in the year 2006. The total sample population size was 105. The 105 participants were composed of an assorted mix of nonasthmatic and asthmatic nonsmoking bar workers. The main outcome measure used in the study was the respiratory and sensory symptoms obtained from spirometry measurements and serum chemical levels, among others. Results showed that the percentage of workers with pulmonary and respiratory symptoms decreased after the ban on public place smoking .
In another study published in the British Medical Journal in 2000, the effects of restriction on smoking at home, at school, and in public places on teenage smoking were investigated. Basically, the purpose of the study was to investigate the relationship between the smoking uptake and prevalence of smoking among students and the extent of restriction on smoking at home, public places, and at school. There were a total of 17, 287 high school students who participated in the study. The results showed that “restrictions on smoking at home, more extensive bans on smoking in public places, and enforced bans on smoking at school may reduce teenage smoking” .
The manipulation of the tobacco industry in relation to the hospitality management industry and their effects on people’s habits of smoking in public places were the main topics covered by an article published in the tobacco control department of the British Medical Journal in 2002. The authors analyzed the tobacco industry documents from the internet and their effects on smoking habits, health trends, among other things. After analyzing the data and materials that they have gathered, they found that the tobacco industry has virtually turned the hospitality management industry as its de facto lobbying arm in maintaining handsome revenue and profit figures and at the same time maintaining a good image—in relation to the effects of their products on the health of their consumers, in the eyes of policy makers and their stakeholders .
In a paper published in the United States Library of Medicine National Institute of Health in 1996, author Chapman (1996) summarized the different health hazards that may be associated with smoking in public places. One of the highlights of the author’s report was the fact that individuals exposed to the second hand smoke from people who smoke in public places may also be at risk of developing the smoking-related diseases just like those who are exposed to the primary smoke. This can be interpreted as a clear indicator that policies with regards to tobacco product smoking should indeed be geared towards prohibition or at least towards a tighter set of regulations, especially in public places .
Works Cited
Chapman, S. "Smoking in Public Places Abstract." United States national Library of Medicine National Institutes of Health (1996): 1051-1052.
Dearlove, J., S. Bialous and S. Glantz. "Tobacco Industry Manipulation of the Hospitality Industry to Maintain Smoking in Public Places Abstract." The British Medical Journal: Tob Control (2002).
Menzies, D., et al. "Respiratory Symptoms, Pulmonary Function, and Markers of Inflammation Among Bar Workers Before and After a Legislative Ban on Smoking in Public Places Abstract." Journal of the American Medical Association (2006).
Wakefield, M., et al. "Effect of restrictions on smoking at home, at school, and in public places on teenage smoking: cross sectional study Abstract." The British Medical Journal (2000): 321-333.
