The Effect Evaluation of Shanghai Smoke Control Legislation on Secondhand Smoking in Internet Cafes in Shanghai

Objective To evaluate the impact of smoke-control legislation on reduction of secondhand smoke in internet cafes in Shanghai.Methods A total of 30 internet cafes were selected from three districts representing central,rural-urban and suburban areas of Shanghai,and surveyed through pre and post-ban with cross-sectional studies.Field observation,indoor and outdoor PM2.5 monitoring and questionnaire interview among the workers were conducted each time.Results The overall average difference value of pre-ban PM2.5 between indoor and outdoor air was 623.79 μg/m3,while that was 462.10 μg/m3 during the post-ban period(t=1.37,P=0.181).The PM2.5 difference level in the central area declined from 821.38 μg/m3(pre-ban) to 369.78 μg/m3(post-ban)(t=3.52,P0.01).The percentage of exposing to secondhand smoke among the staff declined from 63.98%(pre-ban) to 36.07%(post-ban)(χ2=17.88,P0.01);the percentage of who reported moderately or severely exposed to secondhand smoke declined from 74.36% to 25.64%(χ2=10.19,P0.01);and the average time of exposing to secondhand smoke at workplaces per day declined from(6.08±3.92)to(4.23±4.44) h(t=2.37,P0.05).The pre-ban rates of supporting to the smoke-free internet cafes and smoke-free working sites among the staff were 49.47% and 44.68% respectively,compared to post-ban level of 75.14% and 66.48%(χ2=25.49,P0.01;χ2=17.46,P0.01).The percentage of who reported willing to discourage guests from smoking increased from 24.35% to 79.10%(χ2=110.69,P0.01).Conclusion Overall,this study shows the positive impact of the legislation on reducing SHS in internet cafes,but not greatly.Therefore,it is necessary to strengthen the implementation of smoke-control legislation in Shanghai.