Background
It is important to know where people physically go to smoke, for two main reasons: 1) as part of understanding the target audience of smokers, so that interventions and communications are appropriately and effectively targeted, and 2) to identify where people are likely to be exposed to second-hand smoke. In the Health Sponsorship Council’s (HSC’s) 2008 Health and Lifestyles Survey (HLS) smokers were asked about the three main places where they usually smoke.
Methodology
Current smokers (those who smoked at Ieast monthly, n=422) were given a list of places where they might smoke, and were asked three questions:
- Where is the main place that you smoke now?
- Where do you smoke next most often?
- Where do you smoke next most often, after those?
Data were analysed in two ways; 1) the percentage of current smokers who mentioned each place as the main place where they smoked, and 2) the percentage of current smokers who mentioned each place as one of the three main places where they smoked.
Key Results
The most common places where people smoked, possibly reflecting where people spend the majority of their time, were ‘at home – outdoors’ (81%), ‘outside the workplace’ (41%) and ‘at home – indoors’ (30%)