Will The Smoking Ban Will Affect Young Adults

Introduction

The issue that I will be looking at is if the smoking ban will affect young adults (ages 21 and under behaviour) when it comes to going out.

I plan to find out if the ban will discourage people from going out or encourage them because of the ban.

The reason that I am conducting this research is because it is an interesting subject to me which means that I will stay motivated thought the research which is essential. With the ban coming into action soon it will be interesting to see the reactions that people give and what they think of the ban.

Also as a smoker myself, I know what I feel about the ban and I know how I will react, but I feel that I would like to know what other people will do.

Also I feel that this is a subject that will be able to generate enough material to complete this research.

My objectives are:

 To create a questionnaire that will generate enough material to write my research project

 To prove that the ban will affect people's behaviour when going out

 To collect primary and secondary research to help conduct my research

Hypothesis

 When the smoking ban comes into action people will reduce the amount that they go out

 When the smoking ban comes in a majority of smokers will think of quitting

2 Literature search

2.1 Smoking ban - the history

The idea of a smoking ban started on the 31st March 2003 when New York introduced a total ban in all public places and, in the same year and till now many other states have taken up the ban and it has produced large amounts of results in people's health and the amount of people quitting.

In the UK the first smoking ban in public places was introduced on the 31st March 2004, this included pubs, clubs, restaurants and all other enclosed areas.

The smoking ban was decided in Northern Ireland in 2005 by Minister Shaun-Woodward, but wasn't introduced till this year (2007).

On the 26th march 2006 Scotland introduced the ban on smoking, guidelines where given to all local councils to send to all businesses, they were given all the power to enforce the ban and also to make sure that everyone is abiding by it.

Finally this year (2007) England and Wales will be introducing the ban.

(Anon 2003)

2.2 How the smoking ban will be implemented and current impact on profits

2.2.1.1 Where will smoking be banned?

Smoking will be banned in all enclosed areas pubs, clubs, restaurants, nightclubs and private members' clubs will be most affected as smokers generally go out to have a drink and a cigarette.

2.2.1.2 Where will you be able to smoke?

The only places that you will be able to smoke in is, outside, in your own home and car.

2.2.1.3 What will happen if I'm caught fag-in-hand?

Anyone that is caught smoking in a non-smoking area, they will be liable to receive a Ј50 on the spot fine or if you pay in 20 days of the fine it will be Ј30.

2.2.1.4 But who's really going to care if I light up a sneaky one?

If a manager or owner is caught with people smoking on their premises could face a Ј2,500 fine if they fail to stop them. They could also be charged an on-the-spot fine of Ј200 if they fail to display no smoking signs, with that increasing to Ј1,000 if it goes to court.

2.2.1.5 When will the ban come into force?

The ban will come into force on

England - July 1st 2007

Scotland - March 2006

Wales - April 2nd 2007

Northern Ireland - April 30 2007

(Anon 2005)

2.2.1.6 Implementing the ban

The environmental health practitioners will be working with local authorities when it comes to enforcing the ban.

It is widely expected that environmental health practitioners working for local authorities will play a key role in enforcing the new law.

The CIEH, Mr Gray says that 'It is important that environmental health officers be responsible for developing a compliance strategy because of their links with business premises, licensing laws and public health'.

Mr Gray also noted that they are currently working on an outline of how a compliance strategy could be constructed by local authorities. He anticipated there would be a continuum of activities that regulatory officers would engage in, beginning with information and persuasion, through to warning and cautioning and, finally, prosecution.

Mr Gray also stated that 'The main challenges will be where an owner or manager of a business, such as a pub or club, has done all that can be reasonably expected to prohibit, detect and prevent smoking, and yet customers continue to smoke.

(McKenzie and Thompson, 2003)

2.2.1.7 Smoking ban 'good for business'

Dr Brian Gibbons says that "smokers and non-smokers alike preferred smoke-free places and were spending more time in cafes, which were already smoke-free".

Dr Gibbons said "since taking over a former smoking establishment, it has recorded an 80% surge in sales while Cafe Mao in Cardiff's Gabalfa area has posted a 15% increase in takings since introducing their voluntary ban in May".

(Anon 2003)

There has been some evidence that the ban has had a negative effect, the following quotations prove this.

A land lady introduced a blank ban in her pub in 1993, as requested by the locals, but when she did introduce it people didn't react as she had thought, this