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Issue Addressed: Little research has examined issues surrounding employee smoking outside smoke-free workplaces. The study's aims were to: 1) document the proportion of NSW indoor employees covered by total workplace smoking bans; 2) examine community perceptions of employee smoking during working hours; 3) identify the characteristics of having a supportive attitude toward tobacco control in the workplace; and 4) describe relationships between smoking relapse and workplace-related smoking., Methods: Two cross-sectional, computer-assisted telephone interview surveys of randomly selected adults were conducted. Consent rates were 49.1% in 2004 and 45.8% in 2006, with sample sizes of 1,158 and 2,393 respectively., Results: Total workplace bans were reported by 92.9% of indoor employees. Community attitudes to smoking in working hours were highly negative: 77.7% agreed smoking breaks waste too much time and 85.1% opposed smoking near workplace doorways. Being female, born in Australia and a non-smoker were associated with more negative attitudes. A higher proportion of smokers (78.3%) perceived smoking was more common outside their place of work or study than at five other locations: rail/bus stop (60.2%), friends' houses (59.3%), own street (35.2%), parks (34.3%), and outside school (22.6%). Of smokers making a quit attempt in the past year, 42.1% relapsed at home, 22.1% at licensed premises and 18.7% at work., Conclusions: Findings emphasise the low support for smoking during or near work. Smoking outside workplaces is highly visible. Data on relapse suggest a modest relationship with workplace-related smoking.

Objective: This study aimed to examine recent levels of exposure to smoking in movies, how the community perceived the level of smoking they saw in recently-viewed movies and whether there was community support for any form of regulation., Methods: As part of a 2004 New South Wales survey of smoking-related perceptions and practices, 1,154 adults participated in a computer-assisted telephone interview about perceptions relating to smoking depiction in movies and television., Results: More than one-quarter of those who had seen a recent movie in the cinema (28.5%) or on DVD (33.9%) thought that the movie contained excessive or inappropriate smoking. More than half the sample (59.1%) considered it likely the tobacco industry played a role in the level of smoking depiction, although only 18% of those who thought a recent movie contained excessive smoking attributed this to the tobacco industry. Almost two-thirds of respondents favoured screening anti-tobacco advertisements prior to movies with smoking., Conclusion: Cinema and DVD movies commonly include scenes where there is excessive or inappropriate smoking. It is widely believed that the tobacco industry is contributing to this, and there is strong community support for action to curb the harmful influences this may be having.

Issue Addressed: Quitting intentions and behaviours of smokers require monitoring. In particular, assessment of the distribution of smokers on the quitting continuum and of the proportion of hard-core smokers has implications for the design of future quit campaigns., Methods: Cross-sectional survey of 1,509 persons (74.4% consent rate) randomly selected from the New South Wales Electronic White Pages. 1,431 respondents were eligible (aged 18 and over)., Results: Current smokers comprised 19.1% (n=274) and former smokers 28.0% (n=400). Sixty-one per cent of current smokers had quit for at least one day in the last year and 67.1% were in the intermediate or advanced preparation levels of the quitting continuum. Half of the smokers (46.7%) recalled receiving cessation advice during a past-year medical visit. Sixty-four point five per cent (64.5%) of smokers and 63.4% of former smokers reported no use of assistance in their quit attempts. Five point five per cent (5.5%) of smokers aged 26 and over met the hard-core criteria., Conclusion: Most smokers want to quit but when making a quit attempt do not use proven, effective strategies. Relapse rates are high in the immediate post-cessation period.