Health
Banning smoking in offices, restaurants and other public places does not make people smoke more at home, according to a study conducted in the UK, Ireland, France, Germany and The Netherlands. It turns out that in cities where smoking is prohibited in public places, people actually smoke less because they do not smoke outside the home, and at home they do not smoke more than usual in an attempt to “catch up”.
In addition, researchers have found that the ban on smoking in public places encourages many smokers to quit the bad habit.
Previously, opponents of the law banning smoking in public places argued that people would start smoking much more at home, thus putting their non-smokers at risk relatives, especially children. However, a large-scale European study showed the opposite. It turned out that smokers who allowed themselves to smoke at home did not smoke anymore, and those who did not smoke at home did not change their rules. Moreover, after the ban was introduced, even those people who allowed themselves to smoke at home imposed a ban on “home” smoking.
The numbers speak for themselves. After the introduction of a law banning smoking in public places, the number of people who smoke at home fell by 25 per cent in Ireland, 17 per cent in France and 28 per cent in the Netherlands. Most often, after the ban was introduced, those who were already about to quit the bad habit, those who were about to have a child, as well as those smokers who approved the ban, stopped smoking at home for smoking in public places.