RESTRICTIONS ON TOBACCO AND ALCOHOL-USE IN AUSTRALIAN WORKPLACES

In a telephone survey of 455 of the top 600 companies in Australia, ar ound three-quarters reported the existence of restrictions on both smo king and alcohol in the workplace, Forty-six percent of companies had a total ban on smoking at work, 31% had designated limited areas where employees were permitted to smoke, and 23% had no policy on smoking, Seventy-seven percent of companies encouraged a total alcohol-free wor k environment. The larger the company, the more likely it was to have restrictions on smoking in the work-place, but there was no relationsh ip between the size of the company and alcohol restrictions, Governmen t organizations were more likely to have restrictions on smoking than nongovernment organizations, but this difference was not apparent for alcohol restrictions, The major reasons given for smoking restrictions were related to health and comfort, while those for alcohol were rela ted to work productivity and safety.