Missouri to help employers make worksites smoke-free

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December 5, 2007

A new “toolkit” of information to help employers in Missouri establish a smoke-free work environment is now available from the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services.

The tool kit includes information about the benefits of a smoke-free environment for employers and employees, policy implementation and tobacco-cessation resources.

The toolkit is available at www.dhss.mo.gov/SmokingAndTobacco/EmployersToolkit.pdf.

“Tobacco use in the workplace creates serious health concerns, including heart disease, stroke and respiratory diseases, not only for employees who smoke but also nonsmoking workers who are exposed to the secondhand smoke” said Stan Cowan, manager of the health department’s Tobacco Use Prevention Program. “Smoke-free workplace policies are the only effective way to eliminate this entirely preventable and unnecessary health risk.”

Several recent studies underscore the benefits of smoke-free policies.

In the first year after enactment of a law in New York prohibiting smoking in most workplaces, a 47 percent decrease in cotinine levels was found in nonsmokers. Cotinine is a byproduct formed in the body after exposure to nicotine. According to the report, reduced levels of cotinine indicate lower levels of secondhand smoke exposure, which in turn are expected to reduce death and disability due to heart disease and lung cancer. The study, published in July by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, is the first of its kind offering biological evidence of reduced exposure to secondhand smoke in the general population following the implementation of a statewide smoke-free law.
A study published earlier this year in the Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine shows that smoke-free worksite policies have reduced smoking among working adults. The National Health Interview Survey on Smoking Trends in U.S. Worker Groups found that smoking rates declined in every one of the 41 occupations surveyed. Overall, 27.8 percent of working adults smoked during the first survey period of 1987 to 1994 compared to 24.5 percent during the second survey period of 1997 to 2004 – a statistically significant reduction. The study concluded that restricting smoking in the workplace encourages some smokers to quit smoking altogether.
A study published in the March issue of the American Journal of Public Health reported a 24 percent increase in lung cancer risk among employees exposed to secondhand smoke in the workplace. Researchers also found that the longer workers were exposed to smoke, the greater their chances of developing lung cancer.
“As more businesses adopt smoke-free policies, non-smokers are exposed to less secondhand smoke and more smokers are deciding to quit smoking,” Cowan said. “Employers are beginning to realize that smoke-free workplace policies pay dividends in lower health care claims and increased productivity.”

Cowan noted, however, that while more than half of U.S. residents live in areas with laws that protect employees and the public from secondhand smoke, only about six percent of Missourians live in communities with such protection.

“It is gratifying to see that smoking rates have declined and more people are being protected from the effects of tobacco smoke, but Missouri’s smoking rates still exceed the national average,” Cowan said. “We must continue to educate people about the dangers of smoking and secondhand smoke and help smokers stop using tobacco.”

The Missouri Tobacco Quitline, a free service to help smokers quit, is provided toll free at 1-800-Quit-Now (1-800-784-8669).

The most recent data show that 23.2 percent of Missouri adults smoke, compared to 20 percent nationwide.

Every year, nearly 10,000 Missourians die from smoking-related diseases, while exposure to secondhand smoke contributes to more than 1,200 additional deaths among Missouri residents.-Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services

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