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Policies | Tobacco Use Cessation Interventions

Tobacco-use cessation policies1-3

Workplace policies promote a corporate “culture of good health.”

Workplace smoking bans (e.g., smoke-free buildings, campuses, and company-owned vehicles) encourage users to quit and reinforce the company’s health emphasis

  • Many studies have shown that smoking bans and restrictions are effective strategies to reduce exposure to second-hand smoke, a preventable cause of significant illness and death
  • Smoking restrictions that prohibit smoking indoors reduce exposure to second-hand smoke, reduce the number of cigarettes an individual smokes each day, and increase the number of smokers who quit
  • In contrast, a tobacco ban would prohibit tobacco use entirely anywhere on the company grounds. Smoking bans are more effective than are smoking restrictions in lowering exposure to second-hand smoke (i.e., environmental tobacco smoke) by an average of 72% in the workplace and in reducing the number of employees who smoke
  • Tobacco-free policies should be combined with tobacco cessation campaigns and referral programs. Emphasize that a tobacco-free environment protects everyone—tobacco users and nonusers alike

References

1.  Task Force on Community Preventive Services. The Guide to Community Preventive Services: What Works to Promote Health. New York: Oxford University Press, 2005. Available from: http://www.thecommunityguide.org/tobacco/Tobacco.pdf [PDF – 363KB].

2.  Task Force on Community Preventive Services.Effectiveness of smoking bans and restrictions to reduce exposure to environmental tobacco smoke. The Guide to Community Preventive Services. [cited 2008 Oct 13]. Available from: http://www.thecommunityguide.org/tobacco/smokingbans_archive.html.

3.  Hopkins DP, Briss PA, Ricard CJ, Husten CG, Carande-Kulis VG, Fielding JE, Alao MO, McKenna JW, Sharp DJ, Harris JR, Woollery TA, Harris KW, The Task Force on Community Preventive Services. Reviews of evidence regarding interventions to reduce tobacco use and exposure to environmental tobacco smoke. Am J Prev Med. 2001; 20(2S): 16-166.

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