Health Education Research Advance Access published online on July 17, 2008
Health Education Research, doi:10.1093/her/cym003
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
The pit and the pendulum: the impact on teen smokers of including a designated smoking area in school tobacco control policy
1 Prevention Program, British Columbia Cancer Agency, Kelowna, BC V1Y 5L3, Canada
2 Health Care and Epidemiology, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC V6T 1Z3, Canada
3 Tobacco Reduction Initiative, Nanaimo, BC V9T 2L9, Canada
4 Department of Public Health Science, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB T6G 2E1, Canada
Correspondence to: * Correspondence to: L. E. Baillie. E-mail: lbaillie{at}bccancer.bc.ca
Thirty per cent of school districts in British Columbia do not ban smoking outright on school grounds, and in several instances, smoking is permitted in smoking pits, regardless of school district policy. While there is evidence to suggest that enforcing a tobacco-free environment for students does reduce adolescent smoking rates, the concomitant safety and discipline problems it creates for school staff and administration are demanding and complex, and may override concerns regarding student smoking. This study uses a qualitative approach to explore the meanings that students place on tobacco control policy and the impact that these meanings have on their own smoking behaviours. We found that students were surprised and concerned that smoking was permitted on school property and that it negatively impacted their own tobacco prevention/control/cessation attempts.