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Even when self-control does not work, restaurant bans do, at least when it comes to smoking.

According to a new study by Purdue University sociologist, teenagers and young adults are less likely to smoke when faced with restaurant smoking bans. Also, restrictions like minimum tobacco-purchase ages in Europe do help curb the number of smokers.

"Policies that restrict smoking directly affect young people's behavior, and that may be a key element to curb smoking rates because most adult smokers report starting when they were teenagers," says Mike Vuolo, an assistant professor of sociology who studies youth behavior. "In countries with restaurant smoking bans, young people were 35 percent less likely to smoke regularly."

While many studies conducted previously have looked into individual factors like income and education levels, the current study has focused on the role played by policies and other social influences, such as antismoking messages in mass media and cigarette taxes, Medical Xpress reported.

The study analyzed self reported data of cigarette usage among young adults between the ages of 15 and 24 in 15 European Union countries. The survey involves 7532 respondents and was conducted in the spring of 2002, when seven European countries had restaurant smoking bans. There were 450 respondents from each country, on an average.

"Enforcing a law certainly plays a role in influencing behavior," Vuolo said. "While the bans and policies create a physical obstacle to smoking, they also add a stigma that likely contributes to deterring young people from the habit."

It was also revealed during the analysis, that local taxes and anti-tobacco campaigns seldom had any effect in reduction of smokers when compared to bans and age limits.

"Strategies that rely on a personal cost or a cry to change behavior, such as taxes or anti-smoking posters, weren't as likely to curb cigarette use as policies do," he said. "However, a long-term study that looks at the impact of each effort is needed to better understand how sociological factors contribute to individual behavior."

Also, it was found that in countries with no minimum purchase age, the probability of a young person smoking was 16 percent higher than countries with age restrictions.

"Considering that most adult smokers start smoking when they are teenagers, these laws and bans can be a first step to discouraging young people from smoking," he said.

The article is published in a recent issue of Social Forces.