title: Evaluation of the smoking ban in public places in France one year and five years after its implementation: Findings from the ITC France survey.
abstract: France implemented a comprehensive smoke-free policy in public places in February 2007 for workplaces, shopping centres, airports, train stations, hospitals and schools. On January 2008, it was extended to meeting places (bars, restaurants, hotels, casinos, nightclubs). This paper evaluates France's smoke-free law based on the International Tobacco Control Policy Evaluation Project in France (the ITC France Project), which conducted a cohort survey of approximately 1,500 smokers and 500 non-smokers before the implementation of the laws (Wave 1, conducted December 2006 to February 2007) and two waves after the implementation (Wave 2, conducted between September-November 2008; and Wave 3, conducted between September-December 2012). Results show that the smoke-free law led to a very significant and near total elimination of indoor smoking in key venues such as bars (from 95.9% to 3.7%) and restaurants (from 64.7% to 2.3%) at Wave 2, which was sustained four years later at Wave 3 (1.4% in restaurants; 6.6% in bars). Smoking in workplaces declined significantly after the law (from 42.6% to 19.3%), which continued to decline at Wave 3 (to 12.8%). Support for the smoke-free law increased significantly after their implementation and continued to increase at Wave 3 (among smokers for bars and restaurants; among smokers and non-smokers for workplaces). The findings demonstrate that smoke-free policies that are implemented in ways consistent with the Guidelines for Article 8 of the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (WHO FCTC) lead to substantial and sustained reductions in tobacco smoke in public places while also leading to high levels of support by the public.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, University of Waterloo, Waterloo, Ontario, Canada ; School of Public Health and Health Systems, University of Waterloo, Waterloo, Ontario, Canada ; Ontario Institute for Cancer Research, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
authors.forename: Geoffrey T
authors.initials: GT
authors.lastname: Fong
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, University of Waterloo, Waterloo, Ontario, Canada.
authors.forename: Lorraine V
authors.initials: LV
authors.lastname: Craig
authors.affiliation: Institut national de prévention et d'éducation pour la santé (Inpes), Saint-Denis, France.
authors.forename: Romain
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Guignard
authors.affiliation: Maastricht University, School for Public Health and Primary Care (CAPHRI), Maastricht, Pays-Bas ; STIVORO Dutch Expert Centre on Tobacco Control, La Haye, Pays-Bas.
authors.forename: Gera E
authors.initials: GE
authors.lastname: Nagelhout
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, University of Waterloo, Waterloo, Ontario, Canada.
authors.forename: Megan K
authors.initials: MK
authors.lastname: Tait
authors.affiliation: Propel Centre for Population Health Impact, University of Waterloo, Waterloo, Ontario, Canada.
authors.forename: Pete
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Driezen
authors.affiliation: Propel Centre for Population Health Impact, University of Waterloo, Waterloo, Ontario, Canada ; Department of Health, Behavior and Society, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, Maryland, États-Unis.
authors.forename: Ryan David
authors.initials: RD
authors.lastname: Kennedy
authors.affiliation: Department of Statistics and Actuarial Science, University of Waterloo, Waterloo, Ontario, Canada.
authors.forename: Christian
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Boudreau
authors.affiliation: Institut national de prévention et d'éducation pour la santé (Inpes), Saint-Denis, France.
authors.forename: Jean-Louis
authors.initials: JL
authors.lastname: Wilquin
authors.affiliation: Institut national du cancer (INCa), Boulogne-Billancourt, France.
authors.forename: Antoine
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Deutsch
authors.affiliation: Institut national de prévention et d'éducation pour la santé (Inpes), Saint-Denis, France ; Cermes3-Équipe Cesames (Centre de recherche Médecine, sciences, santé, santé mentale, société), Université Paris Descartes, Sorbonne Paris Cité/CNRS UMR 8211/Inserm U988/EHESS, Paris, France.
authors.forename: François
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Beck
keywords: Tobacco; evaluation of public policies; meeting place; second-hand smoke; smoking ban; workplace