Home and Workplace Smoking Restrictions and Smoking Behaviour: Evidence from Bangladesh GATS 2017

Abstract Home and workplace smoking restrictions are key tobacco control strategies, yet their comparative effectiveness remains understudied in developing countries like Bangladesh. This study examines associations between smoking restrictions and three smoking behaviours, such as prevalence, intensity, and cessation attempt among Bangladeshi adults. We analysed the 2017 Global Adult Tobacco Survey (GATS) data from Bangladesh. Smoking restrictions were categorised as strict versus none/partial. We applied probit regressions to estimate smoking prevalence and quit attempts, and ordinary least squares (OLS) regressions to estimate smoking intensity, controlling for a range of sociodemographic factors. Among respondents, 19.3% were current smokers, 40.5% reported strict home restrictions, and 53.8% strict workplace restrictions. Home restrictions demonstrated stronger associations than workplace restrictions. Home-based smoking restrictions show stronger associations with reduced smoking prevalence and intensity than workplace restrictions in Bangladesh. For instance, strict home restrictions were associated with 19.1 percentage points lower smoking prevalence and 15.9 fewer weekly cigarettes/bidis compared to no/partial restrictions. Workplace restrictions showed a prevalence that was approximately 4.8 percentage points lower and resulted in about 12.2 fewer cigarettes/bidis per week. These findings suggest that voluntary home smoking bans may be a promising policy, in conjunction with workplace policies as part of comprehensive tobacco control strategies, though experimental or longitudinal evidence would be needed to confirm causal effects at the population level. However, additional interventions targeting smoking cessation may be necessary, as restrictions alone do not significantly encourage quit attempts among current smokers.