Factors affecting the performance of duties under the Tobacco Products Control Act, B.E. 2560 among competent officers in Health Region 2

Abstract

Cigarette is a risk factor for cancers and causes premature death leading to public health problem worldwide. This research was cross-sectional descriptive design which purposed to study the duties and factors affecting the performance of the competent officers under the Tobacco Product Control Act, B.E. 2560 in Health Region 2. The questionnaires were sent to 324 samples by postal mail for data collection. The data analysis was conducted by using stepwise multiple regression. The results showed that most of the samples are male, average age of 43.71 years, hold a bachelor degree (70.40%), married (61.70%), and no smoking history (73.80%). Most of respondents are director of Health Promoting Hospitals (60.10%) and health officers working in Health Promoting Hospitals (92.30%). They have monthly income with an average of over 40,000 baht (28.10%), experience in law enforcement less than 5 years (63.30%) and performance of duty at low level (88.30%). There are several factors affecting  the performance of duty under the Tobacco Product Control Act, B.E. 2560 of the competent officers in Health Region 2 which includes; tobacco controlnetwork reinforcement, media and material supply, experiences in tobacco control law enforcement, skills development, average monthly income, and knowledge regarding Tobacco Product Control Act B.E. 2560, which can estimate the performance on duty according to the law at 24.10% (R²=0.241, F=16.821, p-value<0.05). To implement the law enforcement successfully, there should be supports from public and private networks to participate in the inspection of tobacco retailers’ practices in the community. In addition, relevant agencies should strengthen their capacities in term of knowledge and equipment supply to support competent officers to implement the law enforcement.