Substance abuse treatment counselors and tobacco use: a comparison of comprehensive and indoor-only workplace smoking bans.
BACKGROUND
While indoor smoking bans reduce employee tobacco use, less is known about whether comprehensive bans, which prohibit smoking in both indoor and outdoor areas, are associated with lower rates of tobacco use than indoor-only bans.


METHODS
This study integrated data collected via mailed surveys from 1,910 substance abuse treatment counselors and telephone interviews with 417 administrators of substance abuse treatment organizations. Multinomial logistic regression was used to estimate the associations between counselors' self-reported tobacco use and administrators' reports about organizational smoking bans while controlling for counselors' professional and demographic characteristics.


RESULTS
In this sample, 20.3% of counselors were current tobacco users, 47.7% identified as former users, and 32.0% reported never using tobacco products. Only 19.5% of counselors worked in a treatment organization that had a comprehensive smoking ban. The likelihood of being a current tobacco user, compared with being a former user or nonuser, was significantly lower for counselors in organizations with comprehensive bans even after controlling for professional and demographic characteristics.


CONCLUSIONS
Although relatively few substance abuse counselors worked in treatment organizations with comprehensive bans, such bans may represent a promising direction for tobacco control. Given recent research documenting how tobacco use is negatively associated with the delivery of smoking cessation services by health care workers, additional research on the impact of comprehensive environmental tobacco policies is needed.
Knudsen
Hannah K
HK
Department of Behavioral Science, University of Kentucky, 109 Medical Behavioral Science Bldg, Lexington, KY 40536-0086, USA. hannah.knudsen@uky.edu
Boyd
Sara E
SE
Studts
Jamie L
JL
D000328:Adult; D016902:Air Pollution, Indoor / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence / Q000517:prevention & control*; D001294:Attitude to Health; D003376:Counseling / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012047:Rehabilitation Centers / Q000458:organization & administration; D012907:Smoking / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence; D016540:Smoking Cessation / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D000074606:Smoking Prevention; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D013808:Therapeutic Community; D014028:Tobacco Smoke Pollution / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence / Q000517:prevention & control*; D014029:Tobacco Use Disorder / Q000534:rehabilitation; D014481:United States; D017132:Workplace / Q000458:organization & administration*
D014028:Tobacco Smoke Pollution
J Subst Abuse Treat. 2010 Apr;38(3):212-9
20116960
Chest. 1992 Nov;102(5):1531-6
1424878
Health Educ Res. 2003 Oct;18(5):592-609
14572019
Nicotine Tob Res. 2005 Jun;7(3):475-80
16085516
Am J Public Health. 2005 Jun;95(6):1024-9
15914828
MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep. 2007 Nov 9;56(44):1157-61
17989644
J Occup Environ Med. 2006 Oct;48(10):1099-108
17033509
J Addict Dis. 2010 Jul;29(3):294-305
20635279
Am J Public Health. 1993 Jul;83(7):1031-3
8328601
J Addict Dis. 1999;18(4):89-101
10631966
Subst Use Misuse. 2000 Oct-Dec;35(12-14):1931-65
11138713
Tob Control. 1999 Autumn;8(3):272-7
10599571
J Addict Dis. 1993;12(4):89-104
8292642
MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep. 2008 Nov 14;57(45):1226-8
19008791
J Subst Abuse Treat. 2001 Jul;21(1):1-9
11516921
Alcohol Res Health. 2006;29(3):228-35
17373414
JAMA. 1996 Apr 24;275(16):1252-7
8601957
J Health Soc Behav. 2007 Jun;48(2):195-210
17583274
Arch Intern Med. 1993 Jun 28;153(12):1485-93
8512439
J Subst Abuse Treat. 2007 Sep;33(2):171-82
17434706
Public Health Rep. 2007 Nov-Dec;122(6):744-52
18051667
BMJ. 2002 Jul 27;325(7357):188
12142305
J Psychoactive Drugs. 2007 Dec;39(4):423-33
18303699
Tob Control. 2001 Sep;10(3):267-72
11544392
Psychiatr Serv. 2004 Nov;55(11):1258-64
15534014
Tob Control. 2009 Dec;18(6):451-8
19700437
Tob Control. 1996 Autumn;5(3):199-204
9035354
Psychiatr Serv. 2007 Feb;58(2):181-90
17287373
Tob Control. 2001 Sep;10(3):233-8
11544387
J Subst Abuse Treat. 2006 Sep;31(2):173-80
16919745
Nicotine Tob Res. 2009 Jan;11(1):12-24
19246437
Nicotine Tob Res. 2002 May;4(2):149-59
12028847
Am J Health Promot. 2001 May-Jun;15(5):321-31
11502013
Tob Control. 1997;6 Suppl 2:S44-8
9583652
J Subst Abuse Treat. 2003 Apr;24(3):183-96
12810139