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Smoking in Public Places
A Consultation on Reducing Exposure to Second Hand Smoke
Key Findings from Focus Group Research

CHAPTER SIX: SMOKING IN DIFFERENT TYPES OF PUBLIC PLACE

6.1 This section discusses respondents' views on smoking habits in different types of public place. Firstly, smoking in the workplace is covered and the different types of smoking policies that exist in different fields of work are identified. The extent to which smoking policies are considered appropriate to the particular type of work area, and the degree to which they are respected are also discussed. Specific attention is given to the licensed trade and hospitality sector and the construction and transport industries where employees frequently work in smoky environments. Opinions about smoking and smoking restrictions in other types of public places are then discussed.

SMOKING IN THE WORKPLACE

6.2 Respondents who work in particular types of workplaces, which are public places were included in the sample. The aim was to gain insights from those whose workplace is likely to be exposed to second hand smoke either because they work in a public place where smoking is permitted or because smoking is permitted by employees. The sample also included respondents working in jobs where workplace policies have been introduced in order to consider the possible consequences as a result of change in policy on smoking in public places.

6.3 Based on discussions in the focus groups, the research identified three key levels of smoking policy in different work places:

1) Work places with smoking policies restricting where smoking is permitted which are respected and generally regarded as acceptable and desirable e.g. offices and work places where food is prepared (kitchens, food and drink manufacturing industries), local authority offices, private offices

2) Work places where smoking policies restricting smoking exist but are violated e.g. some manufacturing industries, factories and construction sites, transport companies, hospitals

3) Work places where smoking policies do not exist, for example, some employers in the licensed trade and hospitality industry, some manufacturing and industrial sites, some construction sites and some transport companies.

6.4 Most respondents attending these groups report that it is increasingly common for smoking restrictions to be applied in the workplace. However, there are still expectations that certain types of industry will allow smoking in the workplace.

Where policies are respected

6.5 The smoking restrictions that are currently in place in offices and other enclosed public places in both the public and the private sector are generally accepted and respected. Many smokers accept that it would be unfair to inflict a smoky atmosphere on their colleagues at work and some note that a smoky workplace can be unpleasant to work in. Non/ex-smokers are often relieved that they are not required to work in an environment where smoking is permitted. It is generally assumed that most offices will have polices banning smoking.

6.6 In some workplaces employees are provided with a designated smoking room but some workplaces do not allow any smoking inside the building at all and require that their employees go outside. In the public sector, some local authorities are reported to have introduced complete smoking bans throughout the entire premises of the local authority.

6.7 Some smokers reported that they are sometimes entitled to take shorter but more frequent breaks throughout the day in order to smoke if they so wish. This greater flexibility enables them to smoke to some extent during their working hours, and for most smokers this is considered to be an essential concession. Some smokers comment that restrictions on smoking in the workplace have been beneficial in that they have led to a decrease in the number of cigarettes smoked in an average day.

Where policies are violated

6.8 Some respondents who took part in the focus groups work in industries where the rules banning smoking are violated. This is most likely to occur in places where no smoking area is provided for employees or where employers do not enforce smoking policies with any great conviction. For example, some hospitals enforce a complete ban on employees smoking throughout the entire hospital including the grounds. In these circumstances, many smokers feel that they have no choice but to violate the rules and they will do so by smoking in the toilets or on the fire escape. In some cases, supervisors turn a blind eye to the violation, but in others, employees run the risk of punitive measures or even dismissal if they are caught.

Workplaces where employees are subjected to ETS

6.9 There are also some workplaces where employees are subjected to ETS, either because no smoking policies exist and employees can smoke where they wish, or because employees are subjected to environmental tobacco smoke generated by their customers. Examples of the former are in the more "traditional" industries such as transport or construction. Examples of the latter are in the licensed trade and hospitality sector which are considered less as a workplace and more as a venue for leisure and entertainment activities.

6.10 In both types of workplaces employees do not share the benefits of a smoke free working environment that is enjoyed by employees in other types of work sphere. This difference in standards of policy in different types of work places is considered to be the norm and is not questioned by some respondents. There is still an assumption that some types of employees have no choice but to be subjected to environmental tobacco smoke.

6.11 Some respondents state that the lack of a smoking policy in certain types of work place might deter them from taking a job there. For example, one respondent reports being unwilling to accept a job because she would have been required to work in an office where smoking is permitted. The job was in events management and whilst she accepted that she would have to tolerate smoking within the venue itself, she was also informed at the interview that all five of her colleagues were smokers and that smoking was permitted in the office.

"She said, 'do you smoke?' and I went, 'no'. She said, 'do you have a problem with people smoking?' and I went, 'Well, if I am working with them all day - then, yeah. I probably would.' And she said, 'But the industry you are working in… it is part and parcel of the job.' And I said, 'Yeah, if people smoke in the venue then fair enough. But to be there in the office from 9 to 5 every day…' and she said, 'Oh well, I don't know if it would be the right environment for you.' Before that she was practically offering me the job! It was the thought of every day from 9 to 5. It was a health issue. It was my job. I have to be there to do it. I mean I wouldn't have any choice."
(non-smoker, Edinburgh, young people)

6.12 Whilst many employees working in office-based jobs often enjoy smoke free working environments, the same right is not extended to those working in pubs, restaurants and bars. Comments from respondents suggest that there is a double standard in terms of rights to a smoke free environment and the differential appears to relate to whether or not a working environment for one person is also a leisure environment for another.

6.13 In many instances, entitling employees to a smoke free working environment is currently considered by some respondents to be impractical where smoking is an integral aspect of the leisure activities for customers, as identified earlier. A smoky workplace is considered by some respondents to be an unavoidable part of the job. Those working in this field are expected to understand that this is an aspect of the job before they start.

"They know when they are filling out the application form. It's part and parcel. They know the risks."
(Inverness, licensed trade and hospitality sector)

6.14 Others point out that there are many jobs in which employees are subjected to dangerous environments - often more dangerous than being subjected to second hand smoke. The bar or restaurant employee must merely regard it as a hazard that goes with the job.

6.15 The argument is that these workers can choose some other form of employment if they wish to avoid a smoky environment. However, as pointed out by some respondents, a lack of choice for some workers means that they are subjected to second hand smoke whether or not they wish to.

6.16 To some extent there is also a subconscious delineation of jobs in terms of their value and degree of importance. Certain types of jobs are less positively evaluated and so too are their employees. There is a view that a significant number of people employed in pubs and restaurants are transient. For some workers their time in a pub or other leisure environment will be a fleeting stage in their life and the issue of passive smoking is only a temporary concern that is thought unlikely to have a long term impact on their health.

6.17 However, the experiences of individuals working in the licensed trade industries indicate that they are subjected to many hours of intensely smoky environments.

"I found it quite difficult working in a bar. The bar I worked in tried to ban people from smoking at the bar but the customers wouldn't accept it"
(non-smoker, Edinburgh, young people)

"When you are doing long shifts, 7 days a week in a pub, I mean that's like smoking 100 fags a day!"
(Oban, manufacturing, engineering, construction and transport)

6.18 Despite the view that they could avoid such jobs, a number of individuals participating in the focus groups report that a bar, pub or restaurant job fits in best with their life circumstances and provides them with the best source of income in relation to the time that they have available for working or the time of day that they are available for working. In this sense, they do not have the real degree of choice that some might imagine.

6.19 Only one or two respondents refer to the need to ban smoking in the workplace under health and safety. Very few respondents mention that employers have a duty to provide health and safety for all employees, regardless of their smoking status.

6.20 Some respondents see a double standard in relation to rights to a smoke free working environment. The construction and transport industries, for example, are areas where it has been acceptable traditionally for employees to smoke in the workplace and for many this would still appear to be the case. It should be noted that any legislation introducing a ban on smoking in enclosed public places would not apply to outdoor locations such as building sites, but it would only apply to enclosed buildings or vehicles associated with the site. This draws attention to a feasible contradiction as far as protecting workers from environmental tobacco smoke. The proposed legislation is not an aspect of health and safety at work, but public health and therefore it does not apply equally to all workersü most notably those that work outside.

6.21 Some respondents note that as construction work occurs predominantly in outdoor settings on a building site, this has perhaps delayed the introduction of smoking policies, as they have not been considered to be necessary. Respondents indicate that there are very few sites with non-smoking policies and those that have them are not taken seriously. There are one or two respondents who note that construction site offices have become no smoking areas and that it is only outside on site where smoking is allowed.

"I don't know what constitutes a 'public place' because our work's a construction site. People have a smoke. It's a break."
(Oban, worker, manufacturing, engineering, construction and transport)

6.22 Respondents reported that some sites where offices have smoking policies are likely to have them violated by employees and very often supervisors appear likely to turn a blind eye to violations of smoking restrictions.

"On a non-smoking site, if you're on a job on a scaffold, what can they say? If someone comes up a ladder and says, 'put the fag out,' then you'll laugh at them. They need the work done."
(Galashiels, smoker, pub customers)

6.23 Comments from respondents from the transportation industry reveal that there are potentially variable interpretations of whether the cab or driving seat of a lorry or van can be considered an enclosed public or a private space. For many years smoking in the cab or driving seat has been considered to be perfectly acceptable, even if non-smoking colleagues are present.

"…the boys will do it in the lorry even though I try to make it a non-smoking lorry, but the boys don't give a damn. It's like, I don't want them to smoke but they light up and - for fun- start blowing it in your face. They think it's a big joke."
(Oban, driver, manufacturing, engineering, construction and transport)

6.24 Again, the issue is not taken seriously by some and there is little respect for the wishes of the non-smoker. Smoking in these types of jobs still appears to be largely unquestioned.

6.25 Respondents note that many of the public places where smoking restrictions or bans currently exist and are already well established, are quite acceptable. These include:

• Public transport (trains, buses, aircraft although in some cities smoking still occurs on buses)

• Cinemas

• Leisure/sports facilities

• Shops and shopping malls

• Offices

• Hospitals.

6.26 In these places, smoking is either completely banned or tolerated only in designated areas.

6.27 Some smokers admit to the occasional violation in some of these places, if they think they can get away with it. However, on the whole respondents' views of where it is and is not acceptable to smoke mirror the restrictions on smoking that currently apply. This suggests that people very quickly grow to accept changes that might have been difficult to conceive before being introduced. Indeed, many respondents themselves are of the view that in time people would get used to a ban. The situation is often compared with other legislation such as the enforcement of seat belts, and drink driving restrictions that induced scepticism before being applied but which people quickly complied with and soon came to accept as the norm.

Smoking in Hospitals and other Long Term Care Facilities

6.28 The issue raised by some respondents with regard to hospitals, hospices, long term care facilities and prisons is that these locations will not simply be a workplace but also a home. As such, it is perceived to be contradictory to try and introduce a ban on smoking. Some would argue that these should be exempt from a ban precisely because they are "home" to some people.

6.29 Currently, it is sometimes the case that different rules apply for patients admitted to hospital, and for NHS employees who work in a hospital. In some hospitals, employees are not allowed to smoke anywhere on the hospital premises including both inside and in hospital grounds, but patients are permitted to smoke either in a smoking room or outside. In other hospitals, smoking is permitted outside only, and patients have to be escorted to the hospital entrance.

6.30 There are mixed views on whether or not smoking should be tolerated at all in hospital environments. On the one hand, some respondents believe that hospitals should set a good example. They also point out the paradox that many of people admitted to hospital are suffering from smoking related illnesses, and yet they continue to smoke at the doorway of the hospital. Some respondents are very concerned by groups of people standing smoking at every entrance to a hospital.

"What is it costing the health service? It is ridiculous. They are puffing away outside and who is needing the treatment inside?"
(Inverness, non/ex, pub customers)

6.31 However, others recognise that a hospital is a substitute home for those who are admitted there for any length of time and for this reason, patients who smoke should be provided with some place to smoke. In some hospitals, this means that they are obliged to be escorted to the doorway of a hospital if no smoking room is provided inside. This could have safety implications.

6.32 There is a view that, although smokers perhaps should be encouraged to give up whilst they are in hospital, this may not always be possible as the habit is extremely addictive. Some patients may have not had much notice of their admittance to hospital and may be unwilling or not ready psychologically to suddenly give up smoking. Some respondents note a need for smoking cessation services to be offered in these types of locations in order to encourage giving up smoking.

Smoking in Restaurants

6.33 There is quite significant support from most respondents for restrictions on smoking in places where food is being served as many smokers and the majority of non-smokers dislike smoky environment around them when they are eating. Even those who are against a ban on smoking in enclosed public places, are usually willing to accept its introduction in restaurants and other places where food is served. There is a tacit acknowledgement from some smokers that they may need to accept restrictions on smoking in some public places if they are to avoid an outright ban everywhere. Restaurants and other places serving food providing smoke free areas are a more acceptable compromise to many than a ban in pubs.

6.34 Some respondents draw attention to restaurants where individual smoking policies have been introduced. For example, in one restaurant, smoking is not permitted during food service times to allow all diners to enjoy their meals in a smoke free environment, but smoking is allowed later in the evening. Others find a smoking area acceptable, so long as this is not too close to the area where customers will eat food. These are considered to be acceptable policies by many respondents, particularly those with a more moderate perspective on legislative measures.

Smoking in Pubs

6.35 There continues to be a strong association between smoking and pub culture as identified earlier. Many respondents seem to find it impossible to conceive of smoke free pubs. This indicates a fixed mindset on what is currently the norm. In the opinion of some, the pub is one of the few places where smoking is freely allowed.

"You can't smoke in aeroplanes, you can't smoke in buses, shops…and restaurants, it's not in their interest to allow smoking any more… the last bastion of open public places is a pub."
(Oban, manufacturing, engineering, construction and transport)

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