Newswise — When it comes to visiting restaurants and enjoying a nice dinner, Pennsylvanians say the recently enacted smoking ban is a welcome addition to a night out, according to a recent poll.
Nearly 89 percent of participants in The Patient Poll indicated a more favorable or the same level of enjoyability while dining out now that the smoking ban is in place. The Patient Poll is a statewide survey of Pennsylvania adults conducted in January 2009 by the Institute for Good Medicine at the Pennsylvania Medical Society. The poll has a 5.67 percent margin of error.
Interestingly, a January 2007 Patient Poll by the Institute for Good Medicine suggested that 70 percent of Pennsylvania adults prefer smoke-free environments when dining out.
"Seeing is believing "¦ or in this case, breathing is believing," said Peter S. Lund, MD, founder of the Institute for Good Medicine at the Pennsylvania Medical Society. "Dining out in a smoke-free environment has earned its place with many more Pennsylvania adults in a relatively short period of time."
Pennsylvania's smoking ban was signed into law on June 13, 2008, and went into effect on September 11, 2008. While there are a few loopholes in the law related to certain businesses, the majority of establishments serving food were required to go smoke-free.
Daniel J. Glunk, MD, president of the Pennsylvania Medical Society, says the next step is to close loopholes.
"Pennsylvania is off to a good start," said Dr. Glunk, "but there are still many not protected from the harmful effects of second-hand smoke. We can do a lot to improve the health of Pennsylvanians by closing those loopholes."
The Institute for Good Medicine at the Pennsylvania Medical Society was founded in 2007 and is dedicated to promoting the health and welfare of Pennsylvania patients, reaching out to the community on health issues, and addressing medical professionalism. This includes polling patients on health matters and then providing education on those topics, mentoring young physicians and students, and encouraging good will among the physician population. To learn more about the Institute for Good Medicine at the Pennsylvania Medical Society, visit its physician Web site at www.goodmedicine.org, or its patient Web site at www.myfamilywellness.org.
The patient-doctor relationship has been the priority of the Pennsylvania Medical Society since its founding in 1848. The Medical Society listens to concerns of both patients and doctors to improve the delivery of health care services. To learn more about the Pennsylvania Medical Society, visit its Web site at www.pamedsoc.org.
January 2009 Patient Poll background
Conducted: January 19-23, 2009Margin of Error: 5.67 percentEligibility: Pennsylvania adults age 21 or olderSurvey Consultants: Taylor Brand Group, Lancaster, Pa., and Greenfield Online, Connecticut.
Question: In September 2008, Pennsylvania enacted new laws that prohibit smoking in certain public locations including many restaurants. Since that time, as a result of the smoking ban, when you go out to eat do you find your dining experience to be:
More enjoyable: 55.7%.
About the same: 32.9%.
Less enjoyable: 11.4%.
January 2007 Patient Poll background
Conducted: January 10, 2007Margin of Error: 5.67 percentEligibility: Pennsylvania adults age 21 or olderSurvey Consultants: Taylor Brand Group, Lancaster, Pa., and Greenfield Online, Connecticut.
Question: When you go out to eat, what do you prefer?
A smoke-free restaurant: 55.9%.
A restaurant with a non-smoking section: 13.8%.
A restaurant with a smoking section: 15.5%.
It doesn't matter: 14.8%.
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