Awareness of and attitudes towards indoor smoking ban in public places among urban adults in Hangzhou city,China

Objective To examine the awareness rate and attitude for indoor smoking ban in public places among urban adults in Hangzhou city.Methods With stratified multi-stage cluster sampling and probability proportionate to size sampling,2 029 residents aged 15 years and above were selected from 5 urban districts of Hangzhou city and surveyed face-to-face with the questionnaire used in Adult Tobacco Survey in China.The results of complex sample analyses were weighted by the data from China's Sixth National Population Census.Results Overall more than 85% of the residents supported the implementation of smoking-free policy in public places such as schools(98.3%),hospitals(98.2%),taxies(95.9%),universities(95.6%),workplaces(92.4%),and restaurants(85.3%);but less than a half of the residents supported the ban on smoking in bars or night clubs(47.4%).The awareness rates for indoor smoking ban in different public places were generally low(41.1% for in schools,40.9% for in hospitals,28.6% for in universities,21.5% for in workplaces,16.1% for in restaurants,and only 7.3% for in bars or night clubs)and the smokers had a higher awareness rate for indoor smoking ban in public places compared to non-smokers among the residents.Conclusion Although most of urban adult residents in Hangzhou city supported indoor smoking ban in public places but the residents had a low awareness rate for the implementation of smoking-free policy in public places.The results suggest that more specific education programs on tobacco control should be promoted by governmental agencies to ensure the implementation of smoking-free regulations in public places.