title: Do smoke-free policies in work and public places increase smoking in private venues?
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To evaluate the correlation between the implementation of tobacco control policies, particularly smoke-free bans at work and in public places, and smoking prevalence in private venues in the 27 countries of the European Union.
  
  
  METHODS
  Ecological study with the country as the unit of analysis.
  
  
  METHODS
  Data analysis of tobacco control activities in European countries in 2007 as compiled in the Tobacco Control Scale (TCS) and information on the level of smoking permissiveness in houses and cars from the Special Eurobarometer on Tobacco conducted in 2009.
  
  
  METHODS
  Spearman rank-correlation coefficients (rsp) and their 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were calculated.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The correlation between the TCS score and the prevalence of smoking in private venues (houses and cars) where smoking inside was always allowed was close to zero. A similar lack of association was observed between the TCS score of specific bans at work and in public places and smoking rules inside houses and cars. There was a non-significant direct correlation between the TCS score and the prevalence of smoke-free houses (rsp=0.21, 95% CI -0.19 to 0.55) and a non-significant inverse correlation with smoking allowed in certain rooms inside the house (rsp=-0.34; 95% CI -0.64 to 0.05).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Smoke-free legislation in workplaces and public places is not correlated with increased smoking prevalence in private venues (houses and cars) at an ecological level.
authors.affiliation: Tobacco Control Unit, Cancer Prevention and Control Program, Institut Català d'Oncologia-ICO, L'Hospitalet de Llobregat, , Barcelona, Spain.
authors.forename: Jose M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Martínez-Sánchez
authors.forename: Carles
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Blanch
authors.forename: Marcela
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Fu
authors.forename: Silvano
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Gallus
authors.forename: Carlo
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: La Vecchia
authors.forename: Esteve
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Fernández
mesh_terms: D001294:Attitude to Health; D001336:Automobiles; D005062:European Union; D015438:Health Behavior; D006798:Housing; D006801:Humans; D012147:Restaurants / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence; D061845:Smoke-Free Policy; D012907:Smoking / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence*; D018709:Statistics, Nonparametric; D014028:Tobacco Smoke Pollution / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence*; D017132:Workplace / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence
chemical_list: D014028:Tobacco Smoke Pollution
keywords: Prevention; Public policy; Secondhand smoke