Before and after study of bar workers' perceptions of the impact of smoke-free workplace legislation in the Republic of Ireland

Table 1 Baseline characteristics of bar staff followed up (n = 220) and not followed up (n = 68)

	Followed up	Not followed up	p*
Age in years, median (IQR)	42 (28–52.8)	26 (21–33)	<0.001
Gender (female) n (%)	48 (21.8)	26 (38.2)	0.006
Length of time worked in bars, median years (IQR)	15.5 (3–16)	7 (3–12)	<0.001
Average number of hours per week worked, median (IQR)	40 (39–50)	40 (38–50)	0.182
Work in a family-run pub, n (%)	138 (63.9)	30 (44.1)	0.003
Smoking status† (current smoker) n (%)	79 (35.9)	44 (64.7)	<0.001
Occupational position‡ (owners), n (%)	75 (34.7)	20 (29.9)	0.280
Pub location§(rural) n (%)	48 (22.5)	20 (29.4)	0.161
Support the ban (agree¶) n (%)	131 (59.5)	35 (51.5)	0.239

IQR: Interquartile range.
* p value for Wilcoxon rank sum test for comparison of medians and Pearson's χ² for categorical variables.
† Smoking status categorised by current or non-smoker (current smokers defined as self reported or occasional smokers plus self reported never or ex smokers with salivary cotinine levels ≥ 20 ng ml^-1.
‡ Occupational position categorised as employee (manager or permanent or temporary bar staff) or owner (pub owners, leaseholders, or owner's relatives or friends).
§Pub location categorised by rural or urban location of the pub (rural pubs defined as pubs located where the population was <1500 and urban pubs as those where the population was ≥ 1500).
¶Combines sub-groups 'strongly agree' and 'agree'

ISSN: 1471-2458