Health Beliefs and Proscriptions on Public Smoking.

The increasing tendency to prohibit smoking in public places is examined in light of awareness of the health effects of smoking. Drawing from the Health Belief Model, this paper investigates the development of proscriptive norms for public smoking in two states. Survey data from Illinois and North Carolina show that while smoking prevalence is similar in the two states, Illinois residents are more likely to consider smoking harmful to the individual engaged in the act. Although no differences by state were observed in perceived effects of Environmental Tobacco Smoke (ETS) on health, Illinois respondents were more likely to support legal controls of public smoking. Awareness of the primary effects of smoking on health emerged as more important than awareness of ETS effects on health in predicting support for legal control. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]