A systematic effort to reduce smoking at the worksite

Area of Science:

• Public Health
• Behavioral Science
• Health Promotion

Background:

• Smoking control is a critical component of worksite health promotion initiatives.
• Establishing norms against smoking in the workplace is essential for effective health programs.

Purpose of the Study:

• To assess the impact of competition on recruitment for a smoking cessation program.
• To evaluate the effectiveness of a self-help smoking cessation program within a large agency.
• To identify correlates of smoking cessation intentions and program participation.

Main Methods:

• A three-stage study involving baseline surveys, quasi-experimental design for competition assessment, and program outcome evaluation.
• Development and application of scales to measure smoking attitudes, social environment, and smoking norms.
• Regression analysis to identify factors influencing quit intentions and program recruitment.

Main Results:

• Competition significantly increased employee participation in the Great American Smoke-Out (70% vs. 17%) and recruitment to a self-help cessation program (28% vs. 6%).
• The self-reported quit rate at the program's end was 28%, while the six-month biochemically-verified cessation rate was 7%.

Conclusions:

• Competition can enhance recruitment for smoking cessation programs.
• Further efforts are needed to strengthen workplace norms against smoking.
• Improving both recruitment and the long-term effectiveness of smoking cessation programs is crucial.