We show that smokefree workplace coverage helps to decrease smoking among workers and decrease second hand smoke exposure. While restaurants and bars are often the targets of smokefree laws, this article show the importance of passing and enforcing smokefree workplace policies, as they reduce workers’ exposure to toxic substances.
The Effects of Workplace Clean Indoor Air Law Coverage on Workers’ Smoking-Related Outcomes
Kai-Wen Cheng
Feng Liu
MariaElena Gonzalez
Stanton Glantz
Abstract: This study investigated the effects of workplace clean indoor air law (CIAL) coverage on worksite compliance with CIALs, smoking participation among indoor workers, and secondhand smoke (SHS) exposure among nonsmoker indoor workers. This study improved on previous research by using the probability of a resident in a county covered by workplace CIALs, taking into account the state, county, and city legislation. The county-level probability of being covered by a CIAL is merged into two large nationally representative US surveys on smoking behaviors: Tobacco Use Supplement of the Current Population Survey (2001–2010) and Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (2000–2006) based on the year of the survey and respondent’s geographic location to identify respondents’ CIAL coverage. This study estimated several model specifications of including and not including state or county fixed effects, and the effects of workplace CIALs are consistent across models.
Increased coverage by workplace CIALs significantly increased likelihood of reporting a complete smoking restriction by 8% and 10% for the two different datasets, decreased smoking participation among indoor workers by 12%, and decreased SHS exposure among nonsmokers by 28%