COMPLIANCE WITH THE SMOKE-FREE TOBACCO LEGISLATION IN INDOOR PUBLIC PLACES IN 12 CITIES IN TURKEY
OBJECTIVE
Turkey enacted smoke-free legislation in 2008 that was extended to hospitality venues in July 2009. In order for legislation to be effective in reducing secondhand smoke exposure, compliance must be high. The objective of this study was to evaluate compliance with the Turkish smoke-free legislation.
METHODS
We implemented the smoke-free compliance guide1 in 12 cities, one city in each of the EU NUTS Turkish regions. In each city, the Turkish Institute of Statistics identified 10 central sampling points using a random sampling strategy. We visited universities, schools, hospitals, government buildings, shopping malls, and hospitality venues (restaurants, traditional coffee houses, cafes, and bars/nightclubs) closest to each central sampling point using a standardized protocol. Fieldworkers also conducted observations during taxi rides taken to and from study venues. The fieldwork was conducted during December 2012 and January 2013 in Istanbul, February 2013 in Ankara and Izmir, and between May and July 2013 in Adana, Balikesir, Bursa, Erzurum, Gaziantep, Kayseri, Samsun, Trabzon, and Van. An authorization letter from the Ministry of Education through the Ministry of Health facilitated access to schools. Indoor and outdoor areas were observed to compare compliance in areas covered and not covered by the law. Hospitals were visited both before 3 pm on weekdays and after 7 pm or on weekends. Restaurants and bars/nightclubs were visited both before and after midnight. In each venue, we observed main entrances, stairwells, bathrooms, dining areas, waiting areas, and others. Fieldworkers used checklists to collect information on the number of people smoking and the presence of cigarette butts, ashtrays, no smoking signs, fines or penalty signs, signage visibility, and cigarette sales. In this report, we focused on overall compliance with the smoke-free legislation defined as the absence of smoking in any indoor public place.
% compliance with smoke-free legislation in indoor public places:
(# venues with no observed smoking in all indoor locations / # venues observed) x 100
RESULTS
We observed a total of 898 venues, 4,395 indoor locations (mean five locations/venue), 39,936 people (mean 44 persons/ venue) and 356 taxi rides (Appendices 1 and 2). In Istanbul, Ankara, and Izmir, we observed 404 venues, 1,988 indoor locations and 20,120 people. In the nine smaller cities, we observed 494 venues, 2,407 indoor locations and 19,816 people.
DEVAMI İÇİN : http://globaltobaccocontrol.