O203 Awareness of Harms of Second-hand Smoke among Employees at Hospitality Venues

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Introduction

There is no dearth of scientific evidence that highlights that the exposure to Second-hand smoke (SHS) affects health and worsens the existing health problems among non-smokers (WHO, 2009). Studies have also highlighted that employees exposed to SHS in workplace have harmful levels of cotinine compared to those working in smokefree venues. Employee’s knowledge and awareness about SHS and its harmful effects could lead to an increased demand for smoke free workplaces and prevent them from the harm of SHS.

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Objectives

To assess the awareness level of employees at hospitality venues regarding harms of SHS according to their socio-economic status.

Methods

A survey was conducted among 804 hospitality venues in selected districts of Gujarat and Andhra Pradesh, India under Project STEPS (Strengthening of Tobacco control Efforts through innovative Partnerships and Strategies). In the selected ‘hospitality venues’, the employees were interviewed using a pre tested structured interview schedule.

Results

Overall only (15%) of males and (10%) females had ever heard about SHS. A clear educational gradient was observed in knowledge about SHS highlighting that with increasing educational qualification awareness regarding SHS increased (P<0.001). It was also observed that fewer non-smoker employees were aware that SHS harms people other than smokers themselves (65.99%) compared to the employees (78.43%) who smoked (P=0.068). Similarly it was observed that with regard to awareness about SHS causing

Conclusion

Overall low awareness about SHS was reported among respondents. Social inequalities in awareness about SHS were also observed highlighting lower awareness levels among youth and lesser-educated respondents compared to the more educated respondents. Hence to protect employees from SHS, smoke free laws should be strictly implemented.

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