German Public Support for Tobacco Control Policy Measures: Results from the German Study on Tobacco Use (DEBRA), a Representative National Survey

Institute of General Practice, Addiction Research and Clinical Epidemiology Unit, Medical Faculty of the Heinrich-Heine-University, 40227 Düsseldorf, Germany

Department of Behavioural Science and Health, University College London, London WC1E 6BT, UK

Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.

Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2018, 15(4), 696; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph15040696

Received: 15 February 2018 / Revised: 15 March 2018 / Accepted: 29 March 2018 / Published: 7 April 2018

(This article belongs to the Collection Health Behavior and Public Health)

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Abstract

Smoking prevalence in Germany remains high at approximately 28%. We assessed public support for tobacco legislation and associations between level of support and smoking and socio-demographic characteristics. Data from 2087 people were collected as part of the German Study on Tobacco Use (“DEBRA”): a nationally representative, face-to-face household survey. Public support was measured on total ban of sale, raising the minimum age for sales, taxation of tobacco industry sales, research into e-cigarettes, and ban of smoking in cars when children are present. Associations were assessed with multivariate logistic regression. Over 50% of the German population support taxing industry profits (57.3%) and assessing e-cigarettes as an aid to quit smoking (55.5%). Over 40% support raising the legal age of sale (43.1%), and 22.9% support a total ban on tobacco sales. A smoking ban in cars when children are present was most popular (71.5%), even among current smokers (67.0%). There is public support for stricter tobacco control measures in Germany. A smoking ban in cars when children are present could be a feasible policy to implement. View Full-Text

Keywords: tobacco control; policy; epidemiology; public opinion; survey

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MDPI and ACS Style

Boeckmann, M.; Kotz, D.; Shahab, L.; Brown, J.; Kastaun, S. German Public Support for Tobacco Control Policy Measures: Results from the German Study on Tobacco Use (DEBRA), a Representative National Survey. Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2018, 15, 696. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph15040696

AMA Style

Boeckmann M, Kotz D, Shahab L, Brown J, Kastaun S. German Public Support for Tobacco Control Policy Measures: Results from the German Study on Tobacco Use (DEBRA), a Representative National Survey. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health. 2018; 15(4):696. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph15040696

Chicago/Turabian Style

Boeckmann, Melanie, Daniel Kotz, Lion Shahab, Jamie Brown, and Sabrina Kastaun. 2018. "German Public Support for Tobacco Control Policy Measures: Results from the German Study on Tobacco Use (DEBRA), a Representative National Survey" International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health 15, no. 4: 696. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph15040696

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German Public Support for Tobacco Control Policy Measures: Results from the German Study on Tobacco Use (DEBRA), a Representative National Survey

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