Clean indoor air policies in Wisconsin workplaces

To describe the nature and extent of workplace environmental tobacco smoke exposures in Wisconsin.

Descriptive data and confidence intervals from the Current Population Survey tobacco supplements of 1995-1996 and 1998-1999 are presented.

The percent of indoor workers working under a smoke-free policy increased slightly, from 62% in 1995-1996 to 65% in 1998-1999. Respondents with a college degree were more likely to work under a smoke-free policy than those with a high school education or less. Among respondents with a work policy in 1998-1999, a complete ban on smoking reduced any workplace exposure in the past 2 weeks (4%) compared to a partial ban (26%) or an unrestricted policy (30%).

Wisconsin has seen a small increase in workplace policies that ban smoking in the workplace. These policies are more likely to protect workers of higher socioeconomic status and may increase health disparities in tobacco-related diseases in the future.