BACKGROUND AND IMPLEMENTATION CHALLENGES: Since July 2020, regulations on smoke-free places in the Netherlands have been extended to e-cigarettes. Authorities have limited data on the compliance with the ban regarding the use of e-cigarettes. This study aimed to gain insight into the extent of the usage of e-cigarettes in smoke and aerosol free environments (SAFE), the awareness of people using e-cigarettes in SAFE and the challenges for people who enforce the ban in such places.
INTERVENTION OR RESPONSE: We held interviews with people who enforce the ban in SAFE and asked them about their regulations and challenges regarding enforcing the ban. In addition, we held interviews with young people who use e-cigarettes and we distributed a questionnaire among people who use e-cigarettes and asked them where they use e-cigarettes and whether they knew it was allowed in such places.
RESULTS AND IMPACT: Over a third of the participants indicated to have used e-cigarettes in places where the smoking ban applies. This was particularly common in nightlife venues, train stations, schoolyards and outdoor locations where the ban applies. The awareness that e-cigarette use is also banned at smoke-free places is relatively low. Many participants believe that e-cigarette use is allowed in nightlife venues (13.4%), schoolyards (24.2%) and train stations (37.2%), while others did not know if it was allowed in these places or not (10.4%, 12.1% and 14.8% respectively). People who enforce the ban at public transport locations, sport clubs or café’s claimed that the smoking ban is in general actively enforced, however there is still room for some improvement.
CONCLUSIONS: The study highlights a significant gap in awareness of inclusion of e-cigarettes in smokefree regulation, and compliance with these bans. Despite active enforcement and general understanding of the smoking ban, the findings suggest a need for enhanced educational efforts to address misconceptions regarding the use of e-cigarettes in SAFE.