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

Table 3 Perceptions of positive impacts of the smoke-free workplace legislation (strongly agree and agree for positive statements; strongly disagree and disagree for negative statements) at baseline and follow-up (n = 220) and impact of these attitudes on support for the legislation and changes in support after implementation

			CHANGES AT FOLLOW-UP			SUPPORT FOR THE BAN
	BASELINE	FOLLOW-UP	No change	Net change*	p†	Adjusted OR by statement ‡ (CI)	Adjusted OR by time period §(CI)
	n (%)	n (%)	n (%)	n (percentage points)
Positive statements	Strongly agree and agree
Smoke-free bars will be (are) more comfortable to visit	170 (77.6) ¶	199 (90.5)	181(82.3)	28(12.8)	<0.001	29.86 (11.26 to 79.19)	2.07 (1.23 to 3.46)
The smoking ban is needed to protect the health of workers	180 (81.8)	201 (91.8) ¶	183 (83.2)	22 (10)	<0.001	15.24 (5.99 to 38.82)	2.11 (1.32 to 3.37)
The smoking ban will encourage (has encouraged) smokers to quit	155 (72.4) **	147 (67.1) ¶	152 (69.1)	-13 (-5.5)	0.124	4.06 (2.39 to 6.89)	3.27 (2.07 to 5.15)
Negative statements	Strongly disagree and disagree
The ban on smoking will have (has had) a negative effect on business	62 (28.2)	56 (25.5)	150 (68.2)	-6 (-2.8)	0.550	3.71 (1.98 to 6.98)	2.66 (1.73 to 4.10)
Fewer people will visit (have visited) bars after (since) the ban	90 (40.9)	57 (25.9)	135 (61.4)	-33 (-15)	0.001	4.10 (2.29 to 7.35)	3.26 (2.06 to 5.16)
The smoking ban is an unfair restriction on smokers	109 (50.2) ††	123 (55.9)	170 (77.3)	13 (6.1)	0.080	18.89 (9.67 to 36.90)	3.14 (1.84 to 5.36)
The smoking ban will make (has made) smokers smoke more at home	87 (39.9) ‡‡	51 (23.2)	143 (65)	-37 (-16.8)	<0.001	1.72 (1.01 to 2.92)	2.91 (1.88 to 4.50)
The smoking ban will result (has resulted) in jobs being lost	81 (36.8)	78 (35.5)	153 (69.5)	-3 (-1.4)	0.807	4.19 (2.34 to 7.50)	2.84 (1.81 to 4.45)

* Calculated as the net change in agreement with the statement (the percentage increase in agreement with the statement minus the percentage decrease in agreement).
† p value for McNemar's χ² comparing changes in agreement with the statements at baseline and follow-up.
‡ Odds ratio for support for the ban by response to each statement adjusted for change over time (follow-up survey:baseline survey), age, gender (male:female), occupational position (owner:employee) and smoking status (current smoker:non-smoker).
§Odds ratio for support for the ban at follow-up relative to baseline adjusted for potential change in response to statement, age, gender (male:female), occupational position (owner:employee) and smoking status (current smoker:non-smoker).
¶1 respondent did not answer this question.
** 6 respondents did not answer this question.
†† 3 respondents did not answer this question.
‡‡ 2 respondents did not answer this question.

ISSN: 1471-2458