- Breast Cancer Over 70: How Much Treatment Is Enough?
- AHA News: Pandemic-Fueled Drug Abuse Threatens Hearts, Lives
- AHA News: After Two Heart Valve Surgeries, a Mental Toll
- Every American Adult Now Eligible for COVID-19 Vaccine
- Health Highlights, April 20, 2021
- High-Profile Police Brutality Cases Harm Black Americans’ Mental Health: Study
- New Hope Against a Rare but Incurable Eye Cancer
- Too Much Red Meat Might Harm Your Heart
- Sleepwalking Tied to Higher Odds for Parkinson’s in Men
- Lots of Teens, Young Adults Are Helping to Care for Older Loved Ones
Even Smokers Support Bans at Work
FRIDAY, Nov. 20Most smokers around the world support workplace smoking bans, according to a new study.
Researchers surveyed more than 3,500 employees who smoke and more than 1,400 employers (smokers and nonsmokers) in the United States and 13 other countries. They found that 74 percent of employees who smoke and 87 percent of employers said the workplace should be smoke-free.
“Although there was widespread variation among countries, overall the results demonstrate global support for workplace smoking bans,” lead author Michael Halpern, a senior fellow at RTI International, said in a news release. “This study shows support for additional programs and policies to increase those bans and assist employees with smoking cessation.”
Support for workplace smoking bans was greatest in India (85 percent) and Japan (75 percent), and much lower in Germany (33 percent) and Poland (37 percent).
Even though they smoked an average of one hour a day at work, nearly 70 percent of workers didn’t think their smoking had a negative financial impact on their employer, compared with about half of employers.
“Several previous studies indicate that despite the beliefs of smoking employees and some employers in our study, smoking does have a substantial negative impact on a business’ finances,” Halpern said. “More research needs to be done to quantify the economic impacts of workplace smoking and educate both employers and employees on those effects.”
The study was published online Oct. 29 in the International Journal of Public Health.
More information
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention outlines the health benefits of smoking bans.
Source: HealthDay
