The impact of smoke-free workplaces on declining cigarette consumption in Australia and the United States

Objectives. This study estimates the contribution of smoke-free workplaces to the recent national declines in cigarette consumption in Australia and t he United States. Methods. Nineteen studies of the impact of smoke-free workplaces on workday cigarette consumption were reviewed. The number and cost of cigarettes for gone were calculated and extrapolated to a scenario in which all indoor wor k areas were smoke-free. Results. Of the 19 studies, 18 reported declines in daily smoking rates, an d 17 reported declines in smoking prevalence. Smoke-free workplaces are cur rently responsible for an annual reduction of some 602 million cigarettes, or 1.8% of all cigarettes that might otherwise be consumed, in Australia, a nd an annual reduction of 9.7 billion cigarettes (2%) in the United States. Approximately 22.3% of the 2.7 billion decrease in cigarette consumption i n Australia between 1988 and 1995 can be attributed to smoke-free workplace s, as can 12.7% of the 76.5 billion decrease in the United States between 1 988 and 1994. Conclusions. If workplaces were universally smoke-free, the number of cigar ettes forgone annually would increase to 1.14 billion (3.4%) in Australia a nd 20.9 billion (4.1%) in the United States.