Data from: Attitudes towards smoking restrictions and tobacco advertisement bans in Georgia

BACKGROUND: The level of public support for restrictions on tobacco use is an important element in a nation’s response to the need for tobacco control. However, no data have been available from Georgia on public opinion regarding smoking restrictions in public places, and on bans on tobacco advertisement, sponsorship and promotion. METHODS: 1,588 respondents aged 13-70 were interviewed at home about their level of agreement with eight possible smoking restrictions, used to calculate a dichotomous scale indicating high versus low level of agreement with restrictions. RESULTS: In all demographic segments, and among tobacco users, a majority of respondents indicated a high level of agreement with restrictions, ranging from a low of 51% in the 13-25 age group to a high of 98% in the 56-70 age group. Logistic regression with all demographic variables entered showed that agreement with restrictions rose significantly with age and was significantly higher among never smokers compared to daily smokers. Across all items, the average public support for smoking restrictions and tobacco advertisement bans was 84.9%. DISCUSSION: This study provides good quality evidence of a high level of public support in Georgia for strong smoking restrictions and the total ban of tobacco ads and sponsorship, even among daily smokers. CONCLUSION: This study demonstrates a methodology for gathering national public opinion data to influence policies towards implementation of stronger smoking control measures. Therein lies the relevance of this study beyond the borders of Georgia