User:Laura Wilson
Are Public Smoking Bans Necessary?
Dr Patrick Basham and Dr Juliet Roberts examine the rationale behind the public smoking ban implemented in the UK in 2007 and argue that the ban is not necessary. The claim that the health of all non-smokers is at risk through environmental tobacco smoke (ETS) or passive smoke is the most significant justification for the smoking ban and is criticized by Basham and Roberts on the grounds that the methodology of studies carried out to measure the effects of passive smoking is problematic. Dr Gio Bata Gori has identified the ‘measurement problem’ which refers to how these studies are not based on actual measurements of exposure but on recall studies, which are unreliable [1]. Basham and Roberts also identify a second problem with this claim: “these studies are plagued by sampling errors, confounders, biases and misclassifications of smoking status” [2].
- ↑ Patrick Basham and Juliet Roberts, “[1]”, Are Public Smoking Bans Necessary? Democracy Institute: Social Risk Series Paper, 17 December 2009, page 6, accessed 11 February 2010
- ↑ Patrick Basham and Juliet Roberts “[2]”, Are Public Smoking Bans Necessary? Democracy Institute: Social Risk Series Paper, 17 December 2009, page 7, accessed 11 February 2010
