Customers’ Perceptions of Compliance with a Tobacco Control Law in Restaurants in Hanoi, Vietnam: A Cross-Sectional Study

Anh Kim Dang, Bach Xuan Tran, Long Hoang Nguyen, Hoa Thi Do, Cuong Tat Nguyen, Mercedes Fleming, Huong Thi Le, Quynh Ngoc Hoang Le, Carl A. Latkin, Melvyn W. B. Zhang and Roger C. M. Ho
Additional contact information
Anh Kim Dang: Institute for Preventive Medicine and Public Health, Hanoi Medical University, Hanoi 100000, Vietnam
Bach Xuan Tran: Institute for Preventive Medicine and Public Health, Hanoi Medical University, Hanoi 100000, Vietnam
Long Hoang Nguyen: Department of Public Health Sciences, Karolinska Institutet, SE-171 77 Stockholm, Sweden
Hoa Thi Do: Department of Nutrition and Food Safety, Hanoi Medical University, Hanoi 100000, Vietnam
Cuong Tat Nguyen: Institute for Global Health Innovations, Duy Tan University, Da Nang 550000, Vietnam
Mercedes Fleming: School of Medicine and Medical Science, University College Dublin, Dublin 4, Ireland
Huong Thi Le: Institute for Preventive Medicine and Public Health, Hanoi Medical University, Hanoi 100000, Vietnam
Quynh Ngoc Hoang Le: Faculty of Pharmacy, Duy Tan University, Duy Tan 550000, Vietnam
Carl A. Latkin: Bloomberg School of Public Health, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD 21205, USA
Melvyn W. B. Zhang: Biomedical Global Institute of Healthcare Research & Technology (BIGHEART), National University of Singapore, Singapore 117599, Singapore
Roger C. M. Ho: Department of Psychological Medicine, Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, National University of Singapore, Singapore 119228, Singapore

IJERPH, 2018, vol. 15, issue 7, 1-13

Abstract: The Tobacco Harm Prevention Law has been promulgated in 2012 in Vietnam, prohibiting smoking in public places such as restaurants except for designated smoking areas. However, currently, evidence about Vietnamese customers’ and restaurants’ compliance with the Law is constrained. This study aimed to explore customers’ perceptions; attitudes and practices towards the compliance with tobacco control regulations in the restaurants in Hanoi, Vietnam. A cross-sectional study was performed in October 2015 with 1746 customers in 176 communes in Hanoi, Vietnam. Data about customers’ perceptions on how restaurants comply with the smoking control law and whether customers smoking actively or experienced SHS in restaurants in the last 30 days were collected. Multivariable mixed effects logistic regression model was used to determine the factors related to smoking in the restaurant. Most customers were aware of the law on Tobacco Harm Prevention (79%; n = 1320) and regulations that prohibited smoking in restaurants (78.4%; n = 1137). While 75.8% ( n = 1285) of customers perceived that they did not see or rarely saw no-smoking signs, 17.7% ( n = 481) of customers reported that they frequently saw direct marketing of tobacco in visited restaurants. About one-fourth of customers witnessed that the staff reminded customers not to smoke inside restaurants (28.8%; n = 313), and 65% ( n = 1135) sometimes or always were exposed to secondhand smoke in their visited restaurants. People who were female (OR = 0.02, 95% CI = 0.01–0.05) were less likely to report their smoking in the restaurant than their counterparts. Those having higher age (OR = 1.03; 95% CI = 1.01–1.06), high school education (OR = 2.14, 95% CI = 1.07–4.26), being office workers (OR = 3.24, 95% CI = 1.33–7.92) or unemployed (OR = 4.45; 95% CI = 1.09–18.15) had a higher likelihood of reporting to be restaurant smokers than those having lower high education or students, respectively. This study highlighted a low level of perceived compliance with the smoke-free law in Vietnamese restaurants. Improving the monitoring systems for the enforcement of the smoking law in restaurants should be prioritized; restaurant owners should implement 100% smoke-free environments as following the best practice towards the tobacco control law along with educational campaigns to promote the awareness of restaurant owners and customers about the tobacco control law.

Keywords: smoking; secondhand smoke; tobacco; restaurant; law; Vietnam (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2018
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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