Abstract
We discuss the most recent changes in smoking policies and support for smoking cessation offered to smokers at US workplaces. We used reports of employed adults (n = 112,008) regarding smoking restrictions and support for smoking cessation offered at their indoor workplaces from the 2010–11 and 2014–15 Tobacco Use Supplement-Current Population Survey. The percentage of adults who reported having workplace smoking restrictions was 94% in 2010–11 and 93% in 2014–15 (P = 0.001). There was a decrease in the Northeastern region (P < 0.001) and no significant changes in the other three US regions. The percentages decreased in Hawaii, New York, Oregon, Pennsylvania, and Tennessee and increased in Indiana, Nebraska, and Wyoming. The percentage of employees who reported having workplace support for smoking cessation increased from 24% to 29% (P < 0.001), which was uniform across all US regions but differed across the US states. The percentages decreased in Hawaii and increased in the majority of states. Analysis of smokers’ reports (versus all reports) resulted in lower percentages of workplaces with smoking restrictions and support for smoking cessation. It is essential to further enhance support for smoking cessation offered to smokers at US workplaces.
Highlights
Smoking and exposure to second-hand smoke have been linked to increased risks for lung cancer, heart disease, respiratory illness, and many other health problems (Brownson, Eriksen, Davis, & Warner, 1997; He et al, 1999; Janerich et al, 1990; Lam et al, 2005; U.S Department of Health and Human Services, 2006; 2010, 2014)
The following within-state differences were significant (Ps < 0.05): percentage increased in Indiana, Nebraska, and Wyoming and decreased in Hawaii, New York, Oregon, Pennsylvania, and Tennessee
Trends within regions Among the four US regions, the significant over-time difference in the percentage of workplace smoking restrictions was detected in the Northeastern region only: the percentage was lower in 2014–15 than it was in 2010–11 (OR = 0.70, 98.75% CI = 0.58:0.86, adjusted P < 0.001)
Summary
Many studies have detected discrepancies in the percentages of workplaces with smoking policies using reports provided by employees. These percentages varied significantly by employee’s age, sex, race/ethnicity, education, occupation, income, and smoking status (Delnevo, Hrywna, & Jane Lewis, 2004; Gerlach, Shopland, Hartman, Gibson, & Pechacek, 1997). The percentage of employed individuals who had smoking restrictions at their workplaces was higher among older than younger employees (Gerlach et al, 1997), women than men, nonHispanic Whites and Asian/Pacific Islanders than Hispanics and non-Hispanic Blacks (Gerlach et al, 1997), higher- than lower-educated employees (Burns, Shanks, Major, Gower, & Shopland, 2000; Delnevo et al, 2004), employees with higher household income than employees with lower household income (Burns et al, 2000; Delnevo et al, 2004), white-collar workers than the service and blue-collar workers (Alexander, Crawford, & Mendiondo, 2010; Gerlach et al, 1997), and non-smokers than smokers (Gerlach et al, 1997)
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