Samenvatting

This report was written in order to find out if the current and previous implemented smoking bans have had effect on the smoking behaviour of Dutch citizens and the citizens of the state of California and to see to what extent they had effect. In order to find out what the effects were of the smoking bans, first a background on smoking and smoking bans has been provided, followed by more detailed information on what sort of smoking bans have been implemented throughout the years. Only the most influential bans have been explained. After gaining a clear view on what kind of smoking bans have been implemented, the effects of these bans have been described. Where eventually a conclusion has been based on.
Smoking is an ancient habit of people around the entire globe. The tobacco products started off being used for medical purposes. Sooner or later, it became clear that smoking tobacco leaves brought dangerous health risks with and people could die from it. Shortly after it became clear that smoking tobacco leaves was not as healthy as people thought it would be, smoking bans were introduced. The first smoking restriction that was ever implemented was in 1575 by the Roman Catholic church, out of religious views. The first ban concerning health was a ban on commercials regarding tobacco products and smoking tobacco in the United States.
Years later, information on health risks, for smoking tobacco products, was expanded and more detailed. More and more people became informed of the risks when smoking tobacco, due to the severe health risks, smoking tobacco became the number one preventable cause of death in the United States. That is why many smoking bans were implemented throughout the years and are still being maintained.
First smoking ban in the state California concerning the health risks, took place in 1988 and the first ban in the Netherlands took place in 1990. The name of the Californian ban was "Proposition 99' and name of the Dutch ban was "Tobacco Act 1990'. Both smoking bans were applying restrictions on the price of tobacco products. Taxes were implemented, so a decline of the number of tobacco users would take place.
Eventually, after having a clear view on what kind of bans have been implemented throughout the years and what kind of effects the smoking bans have had on the citizen of California and the Netherlands, the main question of this dissertation could be provided with an answer. Main question is "To what extent did the implemented smoking ban policies have effect on the smoking behavior of Californian (USA) and Dutch citizens?"
Looking at all the previously conducted studies and evidences on a decline of number of people smoking, it can be stated that the smoking bans have had a tremendous effect on people and their smoking behavior, including the thoughts people have about smoking tobacco.
Although a great decline of the usage of tobacco has taken place over the years, smoking tobacco still is the number one preventable cause of death in the United States. Which means that there are still too many people smoking tobacco and too many people could not be prevented from an unnecessary death?
The number one preventable cause of death in the Netherlands is obesity, which can lead to cardiovascular cancer. Smoking tobacco could also lead to lung cancer, but is not a number one preventable cause of death in the Netherlands. Therefore, it can be stated that the Dutch government is a bit closer to reaching their goal than California is.
Comparing California and the Netherlands with each other, they at first seem to have implemented the same smoking bans over the years and the results seem also to be similar. But eventually, a different outcome on the effectiveness of the smoking bans has taken place. The reason why the Dutch government is closer to reaching their goal of decreasing the number of citizens smoking tobacco, is due to the consequent increase of taxes on tobacco products.