Understanding Women Perspective of a Smoke-Free Policy
Krisna Puji Rahmayanti, Murwendah, Arfah Habib Saragih

Faculty of Administrative Science
Universitas Indonesia

Abstract

This study aims to analyze the understanding of the women in the community to the smoke-free policy and investigate the potential transformation leverage to increase the effectiveness of the policy.
This study is participatory action research that combines qualitative and quantitative data. This research conducts a focus group discussion and socialization with the active role of the targeted community. The researchers in this study play a role as consultants to the community.

This study identifies the current status of the support or conflict of the community and potential transformation leverage to achieve a smoke-free environment. The result indicates that all women in the targeted community understand the urgency of the smoke-free policy. All of the participants are the secondhand smokers that have high motivation to solve the problem and save their family members from the danger of the tobacco-use. This result supports the current finding which found that women and children are the most vulnerable group as the secondhand smokers.

To attain a smoke-free environment, women play an essential role in controlling tobacco-use and preventing their family member from being the secondhand smokers. This finding indicates that even though in national level the majority of smokers are male but the risk of women in tobacco use danger is also high because they prone to be the passive smokers. Therefore, the smoke-free policy needs to increase the understanding of the people both male and female related to the danger of tobacco use and involve them to change people perspective about the urgency of the smoke-free environment as a social and moral obligation than a personal need.

Keywords: smoke-free policy; women; secondhand smokers

Topic: Public Administration and Policy