Smoking intervention in the workplace: review and recommendations

Area of Science:

• Public Health
• Occupational Health
• Behavioral Science

Background:

• Growing business interest in workplace smoking intervention.
• Workplaces offer access to large smoker populations for treatment.
• The potential of workplaces for smoking intervention is largely unexplored.

Purpose of the Study:

• Discuss reasons for workplace smoking intervention.
• Review and evaluate evidence for intervention strategies (prohibition, incentives, treatment, multicomponent).
• Address challenges in evaluating workplace smoking studies.

Main Methods:

• Literature review and critical evaluation of existing studies.
• Analysis of intervention strategies including prohibition, incentives, and treatment.
• Discussion of methodological issues in workplace smoking research.

Main Results:

• Current workplace smoking treatment research often focuses on physician counseling.
• Many studies have methodological flaws, and few are designed as evaluations.
• The evidence base for workplace smoking intervention strategies is limited.

Conclusions:

• More well-controlled evaluations are necessary.
• The unique characteristics of the workplace need further assessment for effective smoking interventions.
• Workplace smoking cessation programs require robust research for optimal exploitation.