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Four‐year follow‐up of smoke exposure, attitudes and smoking behaviour following enactment of Finland's national smoke‐free work‐place law
Author(s) -
Heloma Antero,
Jaakkola Maritta S.
Publication year - 2003
Publication title -
addiction
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.424
H-Index - 193
eISSN - 1360-0443
pISSN - 0965-2140
DOI - 10.1046/j.1360-0443.2003.00429.x
Subject(s) - environmental health , legislation , tobacco smoke , smoking ban , medicine , smoke , nicotine , metropolitan area , passive smoking , tobacco control , occupational safety and health , work (physics) , public health , demography , geography , law , political science , engineering , nursing , pathology , sociology , meteorology , mechanical engineering
Aims This study evaluated the possible impact of national smoke‐free work‐place legislation on employee exposure to environmental tobacco smoke (ETS), employee smoking habits and attitudes on work‐place smoking regulations. Design Repeated cross‐sectional questionnaire surveys and indoor air nicotine measurements were carried out before, and 1 and 3 years after the law had come into effect. Setting Industrial, service sector and office work‐places from the Helsinki metropolitan area, Finland. Participants A total of 880, 940 and 659 employees (response rates 70%, 75% and 75%) in eight work‐places selected from a register kept by the Uusimaa Regional Institute of Occupational Health to represent various sectors of public and private work‐places. Measurements Reported exposure to ETS, smoking habits, attitudes on smoking at work and measurements of indoor air nicotine concentration. Findings Employee exposure to ETS for at least 1 hour daily decreased steadily during the 4‐year follow‐up, from 51% in 1994 to 17% in 1995 and 12% in 1998. Respondents’ daily smoking prevalence and tobacco consumption diminished 1 year after the enforcement of legislation from 30% to 25%, and remained at 25% in the last survey 3 years later. Long‐term reduction in smoking was confined to men. Both smokers’ and non‐smokers’ attitudes shifted gradually towards favouring a total ban on smoking at work. Median indoor airborne nicotine concentrations decreased from 0.9 µg/m 3 in 1994–95 to 0.1 µg/m 3 in 1995–96 and 1998. Conclusions This is the first follow‐up study on a nationally implemented smoke‐free work‐place law. We found that such legislation is associated with steadily reducing ETS exposure at work, particularly at work‐places, where the voluntary smoking regulations have failed to reduce exposure. The implementation of the law also seemed to encourage smokers to accept a non‐smoking work‐place as the norm.