Vaping in the Workplace

Abstract

Objective:Describe workplace vaping, prevalence of observed use, attitudes, and perceptions among US adults.Methods:Employees of companies with more than 150 employees, drawn from an opt-in national online panel (N = 1607), ages 18 to 65, completed an online survey in November 2019.Results:Majority (61.6%) observed coworkers vaping at work and 19.1% reported vaping at work themselves. Participants perceived workplace vaping as moderately harmful (M = 1.9 out of 3), 63.2% were bothered by workplace vaping and 52.1% thought it decreased workplace productivity among non-users. Multiple regression models found workplace vaping prevalence varied by industry and participant characteristics, and attitudes about it varied by tobacco use status.Conclusions:Workplace vaping and vaping exposure is common in US workplaces. Employees, particularly non-users, hold generally negative perceptions of workplace vaping. Comprehensive policies to prevent workplace vaping are needed to protect workers.