Adoption of smoking policies by automobile dealerships

Despite an increase in policies regulating smoking at the workplace, little research has been conducted on organizational factors that may be associated with the adoption of those policies. In November 1986, a survey assessing tobacco use habits was sent to 3,432 employees of 68 auto dealerships in western New York. Managers at the worksites were surveyed by telephone in 1986 and 1 year later to assess their attitudes about smoking by employees and changes in smoking policy implementation. At the time of the initial survey, 21 percent (N = 14) of businesses had smoking restrictions. Among the 54 worksites with no smoking restrictions, 14 (26 percent) adopted smoking policies within a year. The strongest predictor of policy adoption was an interaction between the presence of floating smoking restrictions (not tied to a specific area) and the manager's willingness to impose smoking restrictions on employees. Adoption of policies was also more likely to occur among worksites with younger employees. That adoption of smoking policies was more likely to occur among worksites with floating smoking policies underscores the idea that focusing efforts at the managerial level within an organization can accelerate the diffusion process. In addition, the presence of unions and employee concerns about smoking policies are likely to impact upon management's decisions regarding implementation of policies. Given the potential of smoking prohibitions to influence the smoking habits of employees, future studies should begin to focus on ways to facilitate the adoption of smoking policies in worksites.