Bars promote tobacco use among young people, New Zealand study finds

A New Zealand study conducted by the University of Otago and published in early November 2020 shows that bars encourage tobacco consumption among young adults by providing pleasant, dedicated outdoor smoking areas.

Published in early November 2020, the results of a study conducted by three researchers from the University of Otago in New Zealand on 22 people aged 18 to 25 who had recently smoked in a bar or nightclub, reveal that the provision of comfortable smoking areas in these places encourages experimentation and tobacco consumption among young adults.

While previous studies have already studied and demonstrated the link between alcohol consumption and smoking, this new study, which seeks to determine "whether and how the outdoor spaces of bars encourage and normalize smoking among young adults," constitutes a first.

Spaces in which smoking is normalized or even “expected”

The reason why outdoor smoking areas set up by bars and nightclubs are so attractive to young adults is that they are comfortable and more relaxing because they are quieter than indoor areas, according to the study participants. They add that these outdoor spaces provide a more conducive context for conversation and contact with others. Professor Janet Hoek, one of the authors of the study, considers that these "convenient and welcoming" spaces provide "a setting in which smoking [is] expected and accepted."

Several subjects in this study also stated that they smoked only because such dedicated spaces existed and out of imitation, while others stated that they would not smoke if the smoking area was far away or uncomfortable.

“Spaces that normalize smoking are incompatible with anti-smoking goals”

For Prof. Hoek, "By developing a richer and more detailed narrative on how smoking and drinking practices are linked, I think we are creating a stronger basis for policy makers to intervene." She hopes that the results of this study will be followed by policy measures, because she believes that "spaces that normalise smoking are incompatible with the anti-smoking objectives" stated by the government.

The lead author of the study, Julia Brillinger, echoes Prof. Hoek's comments by stating that it is necessary to "change the environments that promote tobacco use and normalise smoking" to "achieve the Smokefree 2025 target". She is referring here to the New Zealand government's action plan called "Smokefree Aotearoa[1] 2025"[2], which aims to reduce the prevalence of smoking in the archipelago's population to less than 5 % by 2025 – this rate is currently around 15 %[3].

According to Julia Brillinger, today, "the trend is increasingly towards non-smoking outdoor spaces." She specifies that "non-smoking bar and restaurant terraces have been set up in some Canadian provinces and municipalities, in American municipalities, in some Australian territories, in Catalonia and in Sweden," and invites New Zealand to follow the same path.

©Tobacco Free Generation

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This brief covers news from the University of Otago (New Zealand): University of Otago, Bars facilitating smoking in young adults, study shows, otago.ac.nz (17 November 2020, accessed 23 November 2020). [1] Aotearoa means “New Zealand” in the language of the Maori, the indigenous people of New Zealand. [2] What is Smokefree 2025?, smokefree.org.nz (accessed 23 November 2020). [3] Ibid. DNF - For a Zero Tobacco World |