Knowledge and attitude about antismoking legislation in Morocco according to smoking status

Abstract

Despite tobacco control legislation enacted in Morocco in 1996, the Moroccan population appears to have little interest in or awareness of tobacco control measures. This household survey aimed to assess knowledge and attitudes about tobacco legislation among Moroccans, according to their smoking status. A cross-sectional study was conducted on a random sample of 9195 Moroccans. Only 33.3% knew about the antismoking legislation: 38.7% of smokers versus 323% of non-smokers. Among the 3050 people who knew about the law, 60.1% knew about the ban on smoking in public areas and 22.4% knew there was an obligatory health warning on tobacco packaging. The attitude questions showed that 27.2% agreed that the price of tobacco products should increase sharply and 45.0% that antismoking legislation should prohibit tobacco sales to children. These data demonstrate low levels of information among Moroccans concerning current tobacco control legislation