Cited by 286Smoking Behavior and CessationGlobal Public Health Policies and EpidemiologyWorkplace Health and Well-being

The impact of workplace smoking bans: results from a national survey

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Farrelly, M. C, Evans, W. N, Sfekas, A. E S·1999·Tobacco Control

Abstract

OBJECTIVE: To estimate the impact of workplace smoking restrictions on the prevalence and intensity of smoking among all indoor workers and various demographic and industry groups. DESIGN: Detailed cross sectional data on worker self reported characteristics, smoking histories, and workplace smoking policies were used in multivariate statistical models to examine whether workplace smoking policies reduce cigarette consumption. After analysing the distribution of policies, four main types of workplace programme were defined: (1) 100% smoke-free environments, (2) work area bans in which smoking is allowed in some common areas, (3) bans in some but not all work and common areas, and (4) minimal or no restrictions. SETTING: After environmental tobacco smoke was identified as a health hazard in the mid-1980s, workplace smoking restrictions became more prevalent. By 1993, nearly 82% of indoor workers faced some restriction on workplace smoking and 47% worked in 100% smoke-free environments. PARTICIPANTS: The database included a nationally representative sample from the tobacco use supplements to the September 1992, January 1993, and May 1993 Current Population Surveys of 97,882 indoor workers who were not self employed. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Prevalence of smoking and number of cigarettes smoked daily by smokers. RESULTS: Having a 100% smoke-free workplace reduced smoking prevalence by 6 percentage points and average daily consumption among smokers by 14% relative to workers subject to minimal or no restrictions. The impact of work area bans was lessened by allowing smoking in some common areas. Smoke-free policies reduced smoking for all demographic groups and in nearly all industries. CONCLUSIONS: Requiring all workplaces to be smoke free would reduce smoking prevalence by 10%. Workplace bans have their greatest impact on groups with the highest rates of smoking.

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  1. A recent message to smokers in India. Impact of workplace smoking bans 277 on July 14, 2023 by guest. Protected by copyright. http://tobaccocontrol.bmj.com/ Tob Control: first published as 10.1136/tc.8.3.272 on 1 September 1999. Downloaded from

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Authors
Farrelly, M. C., Evans, W. N., & Sfekas, A. E. S.
Affiliations
RTI International (US)
Corresponding author
Farrelly, M. C
Venue
Tobacco Control
Publisher
BMJ
Published
1999-09-01
Volume
8
Issue
3
Pages
272-277
ISSN
0964-4563 (ISSN-L)
OpenAlex
W2118380397
Cited by
286
References
13
Citations by year
2025: 2 · 2024: 2 · 2023: 5 · 2022: 1 · 2021: 4 · 2020: 10 · 2019: 9 · 2018: 7 · 2017: 10 · 2016: 6 · 2015: 6 · 2014: 10 · 2013: 8 · 2012: 24
FWCI
5.85
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Locations
  • Tobacco Control (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed Central (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • HighWire Press Open Archive (submittedVersion)
Funders
  • Robert Wood Johnson Foundation
  • National Cancer Institute
Topics
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Physiology › Smoking Behavior and Cessation
  • Social Sciences › Business, Management and Accounting › Organizational Behavior and Human Resource Management › Global Public Health Policies and Epidemiology
  • Health Sciences › Health Professions › General Health Professions › Workplace Health and Well-being
Keywords
workplace smoking bans, smoke-free workplaces, smoking prevalence, cigarette consumption, environmental tobacco smoke, indoor workers, workplace smoking policy
MeSH terms
Smoking Prevention, Adolescent, Adult, Aged, Cross-Sectional Studies, Female, Health Promotion, Humans, Male, Middle Aged, Surveys and Questionnaires, Tobacco Smoke Pollution, Tobacco Use Disorder, United States, Prevalence, Smoking Cessation, Workplace

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