BACKGROUND: Smoking is the leading, preventable risk factor for premature death and disability in Hungary. The objective of this paper was to assess the social acceptability of and the predictors of holding favourable attitudes toward tobacco control policies among the Hungarian population. METHODS: A self-administered questionnaire-based study was carried out among individuals aged 16-70 years. Logistic regression analysis was used to assess whether support for the ten tobacco control policies varies as a function of age, sex, educational level, and smoking status. RESULTS: The majority of the respondents supported the studied tobacco control measures. Over 90 percent of the sample supported: fines for retailers selling tobacco products to minors (92.3%), stricter enforcement of restrictions on selling tobacco products to minors (90.5%), and a ban on smoking in health care institutions (91.4%). The lowest levels of support were for bans on sponsorship by the tobacco industry (52.8%) and price increases on tobacco products (54.9%). For each measure, support was significantly lower among smokers than non-smokers. Age and education were significantly related to support for some but not all measures. CONCLUSIONS: Strong majorities of Hungarians support the enactment and enforcement of a wide range of tobacco control measures, a fact that was acknowledged by Parliament's passage of the 2011 Anti-Smoking Law. Advocacy efforts to encourage the acceptance of tobacco control policies should focus not only on smokers, but also on younger and less educated non-smokers.
BACKGROUND: Smoking is the leading, preventable risk factor for premature death and disability in Hungary. The objective of this paper was to assess the social acceptability of and the predictors of holding favourable attitudes toward tobacco control policies among the Hungarian population. METHODS: A self-administered questionnaire-based study was carried out among individuals aged 16-70 years. Logistic regression analysis was used to assess whether support for the ten tobacco control policies varies as a function of age, sex, educational level, and smoking status. RESULTS: The majority of the respondents supported the studied tobacco control measures. Over 90 percent of the sample supported: fines for retailers selling tobacco products to minors (92.3%), stricter enforcement of restrictions on selling tobacco products to minors (90.5%), and a ban on smoking in health care institutions (91.4%). The lowest levels of support were for bans on sponsorship by the tobacco industry (52.8%) and price increases on tobacco products (54.9%). For each measure, support was significantly lower among smokers than non-smokers. Age and education were significantly related to support for some but not all measures. CONCLUSIONS: Strong majorities of Hungarians support the enactment and enforcement of a wide range of tobacco control measures, a fact that was acknowledged by Parliament's passage of the 2011 Anti-Smoking Law. Advocacy efforts to encourage the acceptance of tobacco control policies should focus not only on smokers, but also on younger and less educated non-smokers.
Authors: Jochen R Thyrian; Demosthenes B Panagiotakos; Evangelos Polychronopulos; Marc C Willemsen; Witold Zatoński; Ulrich John Journal: Cent Eur J Public Health Date: 2010-06 Impact factor: 1.163
Authors: Pedro Marques-Vidal; João Melich-Cerveira; Fred Paccaud; Gérard Waeber; Peter Vollenweider; Jacques Cornuz Journal: Prev Med Date: 2010-05-24 Impact factor: 4.018
Authors: S Thomas; D Fayter; K Misso; D Ogilvie; M Petticrew; A Sowden; M Whitehead; G Worthy Journal: Tob Control Date: 2008-04-21 Impact factor: 7.552
Authors: Zsuzsanna Csákányi; Antal Czinner; John Spangler; Todd Rogers; Gábor Katona Journal: Int J Pediatr Otorhinolaryngol Date: 2012-04-15 Impact factor: 1.675