Smokefree bar policies for low-SES women: Unintended consequences

This paper illustrates unanticipated consequences of smokefree workplace policies in California bars for women of low-socioeconomic status (SES), relying upon thematic analysis of qualitative data from three mixed-method studies of tobacco use in and around bars where indoor smoking is prohibited. Unanticipated consequences primarily occurred when bars did comply with the law and smokers went outside the bar to smoke, particularly when smokers stood on the street outside the bar. Key negative consequences for women who smoked outside of bars included threats to their physical safety and their public image. For some women, however, unanticipated negative consequences were identified with noncompliant bars. With a smaller number of bars where smoking was still allowed, smokers were conjectured to congregate in these bars, resulting in increased exposure to secondhand smoke for those low SES women working in these bars. A common positive unintended consequence of the tobacco control ordinance included increased social circulation and solidarity, as smokers gathered outside bars to smoke. Smokefree workplace laws in bars can have both negative and positive consequences for workers and smokers, and low-income women in particular.