Objective
To assess compliance with smokefree regulations at hospitality venues in two cities 8 months after implementation of national regulations establishing 100% smokefree areas in all indoor workplaces, public places, and public transportation.
Methods
A cross-sectional observational field study was conducted in the capital cities of the states of Puebla and Aguascalientes from October 6 to 21, 2023. Data was collected from a convenience sample of hospitality venues across six areas defined by income. A survey was conducted by trained data collectors to document compliance with smokefree indicators in all public areas of each venue 8 months after the national policy went into effect on January 14, 2023.
Results
The analysis included 410 venues (199 restaurants, 141 cafés, and 70 bars), among which nearly 80% were completely free of smoking and/or electronic device use; however, bars showed significantly lower levels of compliance. Cigarette butts and/or ashtrays were observed in fewer than 10% of venues, and “designated smoking area” signage was present in only 1.2%. No venues fully complied with the no smoking signage. Restaurants had the highest compliance for no smoking/e-cigarette use (87.9%), while bars had the lowest (47.1%). Puebla showed a higher level of compliance for all indicators compared with Aguascalientes. Middle-income areas had the highest level of compliance, while high-income areas had the lowest. The proportion of people who were observed smoking or using electronic devices differed significantly by venue area (indoor versus semi-outdoor).
Conclusions
The findings of this cross-sectional study suggest that hospitality venues, except for bars, are largely in compliance with national smokefree regulations, despite confusion caused by litigation and misinformation from the tobacco companies and their allies. Given this, efforts to assess compliance with the smokefree regulations should be repeated once the litigation is resolved.