Skip to main content
Key Specialties
Cardiology Diabetology Endocrinology Gastroenterology Geriatrics and Gerontology Gynecology and Obstetrics Hematology Infectious Disease Internal Medicine Nephrology Neurology Oncology Pediatrics Respiratory Medicine Rheumatology Surgery
Congress Coverage
2024 ACC Congress 2023 ESMO Congress 2023 EASD Congress 2023 ERS Congress 2023 ESC Congress 2023 EHA Congress 2023 ASCO Annual Meeting
Clinical Collections
Advances in Alzheimer’s

At a glance: The ONWARDS insulin icodec trials

A round-up of the ONWARDS phase 3 clinical trials evaluating the novel weekly insulin icodec in people with diabetes.
ADVANCED SEARCH
Log in
Top
BMC Public Health
Published in: BMC Public Health 1/2018

Open Access 01-12-2018 | Research article

A qualitative assessment of the smoking policies and cessation activities at smaller workplaces

Authors: Christine M. Kava, Edith A. Parker, Barbara Baquero, Susan J. Curry, Paul A. Gilbert, Michael Sauder, Daniel K. Sewell

Published in: BMC Public Health | Issue 1/2018

Login to get access

Abstract

Background

To reduce the negative consequences of smoking, workplaces have adopted and implemented anti-smoking initiatives. Compared to large workplaces, less research exists about these initiatives at smaller workplaces, which are more likely to hire low-wage workers with higher rates of smoking. The purpose of this study was to describe and compare the smoking policies and smoking cessation activities at small (20–99 employees) and very small (< 20 employees) workplaces.

Methods

Thirty-two key informants coming from small and very small workplaces in Iowa completed qualitative telephone interviews. Data collection occurred between October 2016 and February 2017. Participants gave descriptions of the anti-smoking initiatives at their workplace. Additional interview topics included questions on enforcement, reasons for adoption, and barriers and facilitators to adoption and implementation. The data were analyzed using counts and content and thematic analysis.

Results

Workplace smoking policies were nearly universal (n = 31, 97%), and most workplaces (n = 21, 66%) offered activities to help employees quit smoking. Reasons for adoption included the Iowa Smokefree Air Act, to improve employee health, and organizational benefits (e.g., reduced insurance costs). Few challenges existed to adoption and implementation. Commonly cited facilitators included the Iowa Smokefree Air Act, no issues with compliance, and support from others. Compared to small workplaces, very small workplaces offered cessation activities less often and had fewer tobacco policy restrictions.

Conclusions

This study showed well-established tobacco control efforts in small workplaces, but very small workplaces lagged behind. To reduce potential health disparities in smoking, future research and intervention efforts in tobacco control should focus on very small workplaces.
Literature
1.
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The health consequences of smoking -- 50 years of progress: a report of the surgeon General. Atlanta: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, Office on Smoking and Health; 2014.
2.
Xu X, Bishop EE, Kennedy SM, Simpson SA, Pechacek TF. Annual healthcare spending attributable to cigarette smoking: an update. Am J Prev Med. 2015;48:326–33.CrossRefPubMed
3.
Hopkins DP, Razi S, Leeks KD, Priya Kalra G, Chattopadhyay SK, Soler RE, Task Force on Community Preventive Services. Smokefree policies to reduce tobacco use. A systematic review. Am J Prev Med. 2010;38:S275–89.CrossRefPubMed
4.
Cahill K, Moher M, Lancaster T. Workplace interventions for smoking cessation. Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2008:CD003440.
5.
Linnan L, Bowling M, Childress J, Lindsay G, Blakey C, Pronk S, Wieker S, Royall P. Results of the 2004 National Worksite Health Promotion Survey. Am J Public Health. 2008;98:1503–9.CrossRefPubMedPubMedCentral
6.
Harris JR, Huang Y, Hannon PA, Williams B. Low-socioeconomic status workers: their health risks and how to reach them. J Occup Environ Med. 2011;53:132–8.CrossRefPubMed
7.
Fagan P, Moolchan ET, Lawrence D, Fernander A, Ponder PK. Identifying health disparities across the tobacco continuum. Addiction. 2007;102(Suppl 2):5–29.CrossRefPubMed
8.
McCoy K, Stinson K, Scott K, Tenney L, Newman LS. Health promotion in small business: a systematic review of factors influencing adoption and effectiveness of worksite wellness programs. J Occup Environ Med. 2014;56:579–87.CrossRefPubMedPubMedCentral
9.
Goetzel RZ, Ozminkowski RJ. The health and cost benefits of work site health-promotion programs. Annu Rev Public Health. 2008;29:303–23.CrossRefPubMed
10.
Harris JR, Hannon PA, Beresford SA, Linnan LA, McLellan DL. Health promotion in smaller workplaces in the United States. Annu Rev Public Health. 2014;35:327–42.CrossRefPubMed
11.
Hyland A, Barnoya J, Corral JE. Smoke-free air policies: past, present and future. Tob Control. 2012;21:154–61.CrossRefPubMed
12.
13.
Jamal A, Phillips E, Gentzke AS, Homa DM, Babb SD, King BA, Neff LJ. Current cigarette smoking among adults - United States, 2016. MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep. 2018;67:53–9.CrossRefPubMedPubMedCentral
14.
The Iowa Legislature. Iowa smokefree air act. United States. 2017.
15.
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The health consequences of involuntary exposure to tobacco smoke: a report of the surgeon General. Atlanta: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, coordinating Center for Health Promotion, National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, Office on Smoking and Health; 2006.
16.
Cheng KW, Liu F, Gonzalez M, Glantz S. The effects of workplace clean indoor air law coverage on workers’ smoking-related outcomes. Health Econ. 2017;26:226–42.CrossRefPubMed
17.
Carpenter CS. The effects of local workplace smoking laws on smoking restrictions and exposure to smoke at work. J Hum Resour. 2009;44:1023–46.
18.
19.
Headd B. The characteristics of small-business employees. Mon Labor Rev. 2000;123:13–8.
20.
Cunningham TR, Sinclair R, Schulte P. Better understanding the small business construct to advance research on delivering workplace health and safety. Small Enterp Res. 2015;21:148–60.CrossRef
21.
22.
Eby LT, Laschober TC, Muilenburg JL. Understanding counselors’ implementation of tobacco cessation services with patients. J Subst Abus Treat. 2014;47:314–20.CrossRef
23.
Gottlieb NH, Lovato CY, Weinstein R, Green LW, Eriksen MP. The implementation of a restrictive worksite smoking policy in a large decentralized organization. Health Educ Q. 1992;19:77–100.CrossRefPubMed
24.
Hu SC, Huang SY, Li D, Wen CP, Tsai SP. Workplace smoking policies in Taiwan and their association with employees’ smoking behaviours. Eur J Pub Health. 2005;15:270–5.CrossRef
25.
McMahan S, Wells M, Stokols D, Philips K, Clitheroe H Jr. Assessing health promotion programming in small businesses. Am J Health Stud. 2001;17:120.
26.
Uslan K, Forster JL, Chen V. Smoking policies in small worksites in Minnesota. Am J Health Promot. 2007;21:416–21.CrossRefPubMed
27.
Emmons KM, Thompson B, McLerran D, Sorensen G, Linnan L, Basen-Engquist K, Biener L. The relationship between organizational characteristics and the adoption of workplace smoking policies. Health Educ Behav. 2000;27:483–501.CrossRefPubMed
28.
Hughes MC, Yette EM, Hannon PA, Harris JR, Tran NM, Reid TR. Promoting tobacco cessation via the workplace: opportunities for improvement. Tob Control. 2011;20:305–8.CrossRefPubMed
29.
Biener L, Glanz K, McLerran D, Sorensen G, Thompson B, Basen-Engquist K, Linnan L, Varnes J. Impact of the working well trial on the worksite smoking and nutrition environment. Health Educ Behav. 1999;26:478–94.CrossRefPubMed
30.
Hannon PA, Hammerback K, Garson G, Harris JR, Sopher CJ. Stakeholder perspectives on workplace health promotion: a qualitative study of midsized employers in low-wage industries. Am J Health Promot. 2012;27:103–10.CrossRefPubMedPubMedCentral
31.
Housenick MA. Assessment of the prevalence of smoke-free environment policies throughout the Commonwealth of Virginia at worksites employing fifty or more workers. Blacksburg: Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University; 2001.
32.
Park S, Lee J. ‘When operating a cafeteria, sales come before nutrition’ - finding barriers and facilitators to serving reduced-sodium meals in worksite cafeterias. Public Health Nutr. 2016;19:1506–16.CrossRefPubMed
33.
34.
Muhr T. ATLAS.ti. 7. Berlin: Scientific Software Development; 2013.
35.
Hsieh HF, Shannon SE. Three approaches to qualitative content analysis. Qual Health Res. 2005;15:1277–88.CrossRefPubMed
36.
Starks H, Trinidad SB. Choose your method: a comparison of phenomenology, discourse analysis, and grounded theory. Qual Health Res. 2007;17:1372–80.CrossRefPubMed
37.
Miles MB, Huberman AM. Qualitative data analysis: a sourcebook. 2nd ed. Thousand Oaks: Sage Publications; 1994.
38.
Cummings KM, Proctor RN. The changing public image of smoking in the United States: 1964-2014. Cancer Epidemiol Biomark Prev. 2014;23:32–6.CrossRef
39.
Tiede LP, Hennrikus DJ, Cohen BB, Hilgers DL, Madsen R, Lando HA. Feasibility of promoting smoking cessation in small worksites: an exploratory study. Nicotine Tob Res. 2007;9(Suppl 1):S83–90.CrossRefPubMed
40.
Newman LS, Stinson KE, Metcalf D, Fang H, Brockbank C, Jinnett K, Reynolds S, Trotter M, Witter R, Tenney L, et al. Implementation of a worksite wellness program targeting small businesses: the Pinnacol assurance health risk management study. J Occup Environ Med. 2015;57:14–21.CrossRefPubMedPubMedCentral
41.
U.S. Census Bureau. Census of population and housing. Population and housing unit counts. 2012:CPH-2-17, Iowa. Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office; 2010.
42.
Metadata
Title
A qualitative assessment of the smoking policies and cessation activities at smaller workplaces
Authors
Christine M. Kava
Edith A. Parker
Barbara Baquero
Susan J. Curry
Paul A. Gilbert
Michael Sauder
Daniel K. Sewell
Publication date
01-12-2018
Publisher
BioMed Central
Published in
BMC Public Health / Issue 1/2018
Electronic ISSN: 1471-2458
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-018-6001-9

Other articles of this Issue 1/2018

BMC Public Health 1/2018 Go to the issue

Research article

Trends of socioeconomic inequality in using maternal health care services in Lao People’s Democratic Republic from year 2000 to 2012

Research article

Meteorological factors affecting dengue incidence in Davao, Philippines

Research article

Decomposing socioeconomic inequalities in alcohol use by men living in South African urban informal settlements

Research article

High prevalence of hepatitis B infections in Burkina Faso (1996–2017): a systematic review with meta-analysis of epidemiological studies

Research article

Acceptability of financial incentives for maintenance of weight loss in mid-older adults: a mixed methods study

Research article

Comparing the performance of circulating cathodic antigen and Kato-Katz techniques in evaluating Schistosoma mansoni infection in areas with low prevalence in selected counties of Kenya: a cross-sectional study