Workplace smoking policies in the United States: results from a national survey of more than 100,000 workers.
OBJECTIVE
To determine the prevalence of smoking policies in indoor work environments as reported by a nationally representative sample of workers in the United States.


METHODS
Cross-sectional survey of households within the United States.


METHODS
All 50 state and the District of Columbia, 1992-93.


METHODS
Currently employed indoor workers 15 years of age and older who responded to the National Cancer Institute's Tobacco Use Supplement to the Current Population Survey (n = 100,561).


METHODS
The prevalence and restrictiveness of workplace smoking policies as reported by workers currently employed in indoor workplaces in the United States.


RESULTS
Most of the indoor workers surveyed (81.6%) reported that their place of work had an official policy that addressed smoking in the workplace; 46.0% reported that their workplace policy did not permit smoking in either the public/common areas--for example, restrooms and cafeterias--or the work areas of the workplace. The reporting of these "smoke-free" policies varied significantly by gender, age, race/ethnicity, smoking status, and occupation of the worker.


CONCLUSIONS
Although nearly half of all indoor workers in this survey reported that they had a smoke-free policy in their workplace, significant numbers of workers, especially those in blue-collar and service occupations, reported smoke-free rates well below the national average. If implemented, the US Occupational Safety and Health Administration's proposed regulation to require worksites to be smoke-free has the potential to increase significantly the percentage of American workers covered by these policies and to eliminate most of the disparity currently found across occupational groups.
Gerlach
K K
KK
Division of Cancer Prevention and Control, National Cancer Institute, Bethesda, Maryland, USA. kdg5@cdc.gov
Shopland
D R
DR
Hartman
A M
AM
Gibson
J T
JT
Pechacek
T F
TF
D000328:Adult; D017677:Age Distribution; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D017678:Sex Distribution; D012907:Smoking / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence*; D000074606:Smoking Prevention; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014481:United States / Q000453:epidemiology; D017132:Workplace