RESTRICTIVE SMOKING POLICIES IN THE WORKPLACE - EFFECTS ON SMOKING PREVALENCE AND CIGARETTE CONSUMPTION

Background. Thirty-two worksites participating in a randomized trial o f worksite health promotion aimed at reducing smoking and obesity were categorized at baseline and 2 years later as having either restrictiv e or unrestrictive smoking policies. Between the two assessment points , 16 sites received health promotion interventions. Results. At baseli ne 15 sites had restrictive policies and 17 unrestrictive policies. Sm oking restrictions were associated with significantly lower smoking pr evalence and higher lifetime quit rates among ever smokers. They also were associated with more recent quit attempts and lower daily cigaret te consumption, although these effects were not significant. Between b aseline and follow-up, 9 of the 17 worksites that had few smoking rest rictions at baseline became restrictive. Although neither baseline smo king policies nor changes in smoking policy predicted change in smokin g prevalence or in the frequency of quit attempts, smokers in sites ch anging from unrestrictive to restrictive policies reported a significa nt reduction in daily cigarette consumption. Conclusions. The worksite health promotion program was successful in reducing smoking prevalenc e in intervention sites compared to controls. However, the existence o f restrictive smoking policies neither helped nor hindered these inter vention efforts. The present data are believed to support the idea tha t restrictive smoking policies have beneficial effects on the smoking habits of employees, but that the magnitude of this effect is modest. (C) 1994 Academic Press, Inc.