Effect of workplace smoking policies on smoking cessation: Results of a longitudinal study

Studies of worksite smoking bans often find that they fail to increase the rate of smoking cessation. To see whether duration of exposure to restricti ve policies was an important element, we surveyed workers by phone to exami ne the effect of being continuously employed at a smokefree worksite for 3 years, Results showed that worksite policy was unrelated to smoking cessati on. However, 12% of respondents at smokefree worksites reported that smokin g had taken place in their work area, and over 20% reported at least 2 hour s of worksite environmental tobacco smoke (ETS) exposure during the prior w eek. When minimal ETS exposure is used as an indicator of an effectively en forced: smoking ban, logistic regression demonstrates that continuous emplo yment at such a worksite strongly predicts smoking cessation. Failure to de monstrate a significant impact of worksite smelting bans on cessation in th is and other studies may be due to poor enforcement of smelting policies.