Informal smoking controls in Winnipeg households.
This study examined informal controls on smoking (i.e. rules about smoking that individuals impose on one another) in Winnipeg households. A representative sample of 521 individuals was interviewed. Smoking was found to be restricted in 13% of households and prohibited in another 11%. In one-person households, annoyance with smoking was the best predictor of informal controls. In multiple-person households, the best predictors of informal controls were: having a preference for social relationships with non-smokers, believing that second-hand smoke is harmful, and having few friends who smoked. For married/cohabitating respondents, having a spouse/partner who smoked reduced the likelihood of informal controls. The finding that nearly 90% of respondents agreed that environmental tobacco smoke (ETS) was harmful, but only 24% said that smoking was controlled in their residence, indicates that there is a need to investigate the situational variables which can impede the adoption of informal residential smoking norms.
Department of Sociology, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg.
J E
JE
Goldstein
D000328:Adult; D005191:Family Characteristics; D005260:Female; D007722:Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; D006801:Humans; D007398:Interpersonal Relations; D008297:Male; D008350:Manitoba; D008393:Marriage / Q000523:psychology; D008875:Middle Aged; D011237:Predictive Value of Tests; D012044:Regression Analysis; D012494:Sampling Studies; D000074606:Smoking Prevention; D012927:Social Control, Informal / Q000379:methods*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires