6.1 Non-smokers attitudes towards people
smoking near them
Non-smokers that is, both ex-smokers and those who had never smoked were asked if they would mind if other people smoked
near them and 55 of non-smokers said they would. This was similar to the percentages found in 2001 and 2000 55, 1999
54 and 1997 56. Women non-smokers were more likely to mind people smoking near them 58 compared with 51 of
men. People who had never smoked were also more likely to mind smokers smoking near them 60 compared with 46 among ex-
regular smokers. The main reasons why non-smokers said they would mind if people
smoked near them were the smell of cigarette smoke 64 and the health effect of passive smoking 43. A notable percentage also
mentioned the residual smell of smoke on clothing 37 and that cigarette smoke affects breathing 19 or makes them cough
15 and gets into the eyes 15. As in previous years, the majority of non-smokers in 2002 67 gave both health-related
and other reasons; 18 cited only health-related reasons.
Figure 6.1 and Tables 6.1–6.3
Non-smokers who were aware of the health effects of passive smoking were also more likely to mind smokers smoking near
them. For example, 58 of those who said that passive smoking would increase the risk of asthma would mind if someone smoked
near them compared with 32 of those who were not aware of the risk of asthma.
Table 6.4
As the characteristics discussed above may themselves be inter- related, a statistical procedure, logistic regression, was used in the
analysis to identify the influences that are independently associated with smoking-related attitudes.
1
Non-smokers who were the most likely to say they would mind if people smoke near them included:
•
Women.
•
Older people.
•
Those who had never smoked.
•
Those who were aware of the health effects of passive smoking.
Table C6.1
6.2 Smokers’ behaviour in the presence of
non-smokers
Smokers were asked if they modified their smoking behaviour when in the presence of non-smoking adults or children.
The majority of smokers 82 said that they modified their behaviour when in the presence of non-smoking adults: 52 do
not smoke at all and 30 smoke fewer cigarettes. This was similar to the percentages found in 2001 48 and 34 respectively. As
would be expected, light smokers those who smoke fewer than 20 cigarettes a day were most likely to say that they do not smoke at
all 58 while heavy smokers those who smoke 20 or more cigarettes a day were most likely to smoke fewer cigarettes 36.
Table 6.5 and Figure 6.2
Women were more likely not to smoke at all in the presence of non- smoking adults: 55 of women compared with 48 of men. Of
those who carried on smoking, men and women were equally likely to smoke fewer cigarettes. People who knew of the effects of passive
smoking on adults were more likely to modify their behaviour than those who did not: for example, 56 of smokers who thought that
passive smoking can increase the risk of asthma said they would not smoke at all, compared with 40 of smokers who did not believe
that passive smoking could cause asthma. Smokers tended to impose stricter controls on their smoking in the
presence of children than in the company of adult non-smokers. In 2002:
•
A larger percentage of smokers said that they would limit their smoking in the company of children than
in the presence of adult non-smokers 87 compared with 82.
•
66 of smokers said they would not smoke at all if they are in the room with children compared with 52 who would not
smoke at all in the company of adult non-smokers.
•
75 of light smokers would not smoke at all in front of a child while only 58 would abstain in front of an adult non-smoker.
The figures for heavy smokers were 45 and 38 respectively.
6 Attitudes related to smoking
74
75
Figure 6.1
Respondents’ reasons for saying they would mind if smokers smoke near them, 2002
70 60
50 40
30 20
10
Percentage
Unpleasant smell Bad for my health Makes clothes smell
Affects breathingasthma Makes me cough
Gets in my eyes Makes me feel sick
Gives me a headache Other
Figure 6.2
Smokers’ behaviour when they are with adult non-smokers and children, by smoking status
100 90
80 70
60 50
40 30
20 10
All smokers
Adult non-smokers Percentage
Smoke fewer cigarettes Do not smoke at all
Other eg ask permission Heavy
smokers
Children
Light smokers
All smokers Heavy
smokers Light
smokers Smoke the same number of cigarettes
•
A similar percentage of smokers would not smoke at all in front of adults over the survey years 52 in 2002, compared with
48 in 2001.
•
A similar percentage of smokers would not smoke at all in front of children in 2002, 2001 and 2000 66, 63 and 67
respectively. Smokers who thought that passive smoking increased the risk of
children getting various medical conditions were more likely to not smoke at all when they are in a room with children 70 or more
compared with between 45 and 63 among those who were not aware of the effect of passive smoking on the risk of getting various
conditions. Figure 6.2 and Tables 6.5–6.8
6.3 Views on smoking restrictions
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