These links cover research on attitudes, processes and results of smokefree outdoor areas.
International policies
The extent of some smokefree outdoor area policies globally is outlined in a report from the Global Smokefree Partnership - FCTC Article 8-plus Series, The Trend Toward Smokefree Outdoor Areas, December 2009.
Comprehensive outdoor secondhand smoke ordinances in California. Center for Tobacco Policy & Organizing: American Lung Association of California. Sacramento. February 2017.
Tasmanian Department of Health and Human Services. Smoke-free malls. Hobart. January 2016.
Sweden: New Rules on Smoking in Public Places and Sale of Tobacco Enter into Force
In July 2019, the law on smokefree outdoor public places was expanded to include:
- outdoor dining areas such as patios
- entrance areas to smoke-free public venues
- areas that are meant to be used by persons using domestic public transportation (i.e., bus stops, train stations)
- enclosed spaces to be used for sports activities
- public playgrounds
In practice, this means that smoking is prohibited within 20 meters (66 feet) of any of the places designated above—that is, 20 meters from each outdoor seating area, and 20 meters from bus stations and the like.
Read the full Act on Tobacco and Similar Products here
Case study: Queen Street Mall in Brisbane, Australia
Prior to the introduction of a smokefree Queen Street Mall, smoking in Queensland was already covered by very comprehensive state legislation prohibiting smoking in many public places.
Brisbane City Council chose to regulate smoking in the main city mall - Queen Street Mall after conducting surveys, interviews, observational studies (showing numbers of smokers in an area in a given time), social media research and cigarette butt counts. Very little negative feedback was encountered.
Brisbane City Council, process of policy adoption
Outdoor pedestrian malls' smoking ban
Environmental effects
- Novotny TE, Lum K, Smith E, et al. Cigarettes butts and the case for an environmental policy on hazardous cigarette waste. International Journal of Environmental Research & Public Health 2009;6(5):1691-705.
International policy evaluation
Irvine D, Bailey A. The Public Health Implications of Administrative Policy Responses to E-Cigarette Use: A Content Analysis of Ontario's University Campus Policies. Queen's Science Undergraduate Research Journal 2019;3:21-26.
Sureda X, Bilal U, Fernandez E, et al. Second-hand smoke exposure in outdoor hospitality venues: Smoking visibility and assessment of airborne markers. Environ Res 2018;165:220-27.
Evaluations of urban smokefree outdoor area policies are sparse. Comprehensive evaluations have been conducted in Queensland and Woodstock, Ontario:
International public opinion on smokefree outdoor policies
- Martinez C, Mendez C, Sanchez M, Martinez-Sanchez JM. Attitudes of students of a health sciences university towards the extension of smoke-free policies at the university campuses of Barcelona (Spain). Gac Sanit. 2017;31:132-138.
North American and Mexican attitudes:
- Thomson, G., Wilson, N., Collins, D., Edwards, R. 2015. Attitudes to smoke-free outdoor regulations in the USA and Canada: a review of 89 surveys. Tob Control Online September 14, doi: 10.1136/tobaccocontrol-2015-052426.
- Kruger J, Jama A, Kegler M, et al. National and State-Specific Attitudes toward Smoke-Free Parks among U.S. Adults. Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2016;13.
- Pederson A, Okoli CT, Hemsing N, et al. Smoking on the margins: a comprehensive analysis of a municipal outdoor smoke-free policy. BMC Public Health. 2016;16:852.
- Okoli CT, Pederson A, Rice W. Support for a smoke-free bylaw in parks and on beaches. Health Policy. 2013;111:127-34.
- Basto-Abreu AC, Christine PJ, Zepeda-Tello R, et al. Behaviours and opinions towards outdoor smoking bans and cigarette littering in Baja California, Mexico. Health Policy Plan. 2016;31:309-13.
- Braverman MT, Hoogesteger LA, Johnson JA. Predictors of support among students, faculty and staff for a smoke-free university campus. Prev Med. 2015;71:114-20.
Italian public opinion about smokefree outdoor policies:
- Silvano Gallus et al. Attitudes towards the extension of smoking restrictions to selected outdoor areas in Italy. Tob Control 2012;21 59-62
Data on public attitudes toward smokefree outdoor laws in the USA and Canada
- George Thomson. April 2015 Data on public attitudes toward smokefree outdoor laws in the USA and Canada. All cross-sectional surveys.