Smoking Among Workers: By the Numbers
Summary Statement
This poster was created for Workers' Memorial Day 2014 by NIOSH. It shows that construction leads all sectors in the percentage of workers who smoke (28.7%). It also shows that efforts to help workers stop smoking are twice as effective if they are integrated into occupational safety and health programs. It also reminds us that smoking and working with asbestos carries a 50 times greater risk of lung cancer than doing neither.
2014
THE PERCENTAGE OF ADULTS WHO SMOKED BY INDUSTRY SECTOR†
National Health Interview Survey, United States, 2010-2012§
IMPROVING SMOKING CESSATION AMONG WORKERS1
Worksite smoking cessation interventions are more than twice as effective when integrated with occupational safety and health. Among blue-collar hourly workers who received an integrated OSH/health promotion program, smoking quit rates more than doubled (11.8%), compared to smoking quit rates of those who only received health promotion (5.9%).
SMOKING AND TOXIC WORKPLACE EXPOSURES: THE COMBINED EFFECT2
Tobacco smoke and toxic worksite hazards pose even higher health risks, together, than they do separately. Someone who...- smokes is 11 times more likely to get lung cancer than a nonsmoker
- works with asbestos is 5 times more likely to get lung cancer than a nonsmoker
- works with asbestos and smokes is 50 times more likely to get lung cancer than a nonsmoker
THE BURDEN OF TOBACCO USE
Tobacco use is the single most preventable cause of disease, disability, and death in the United States. Each year, an estimated 443,000 people die prematurely from smoking or exposure to secondhand smoke, and another 8.6 million live with a serious illness caused by smoking. Despite these risks, approximately 46.6 million U.S. adults smoke cigarettes. Smokeless tobacco, cigars, and pipes also have deadly consequences, including lung, larynx, esophageal, and oral cancers.
1 Source: Sorensen, Barbeau, 2006. Integrating Occupational Health, safety and worksite health promotion: opportunities for research and practice
2 Source: Commission on Health and Safety and Workers' Compensation. 2010. The Whole Worker: Guidelines for Integrating Occupational Health and Safety with Workplace Wellness Programs
* Based on responses to a question that asked, "Have you smoked at least 100 cigarettes in your entire life?" Respondents answering "yes" were then asked, "Do you now smoke cigarettes every day, some days, or not at all?" Current smokers have smoked at least 100 cigarettes in their lifetime and currently smoke every day or some days.
† Industry consists of eight sectors emphasized in the National Occupational Research Agenda (http://www.cdc.gov/niosh/nora/sector.html): agriculture/forestry/fishing; mining; construction; manufacturing; transportation/warehousing/utilities; trade; services; and healthcare/social assistance. Currently employed respondents were asked about the industry of their current job or business; respondents who were not currently working but had ever worked were asked about the industry of their most recent job or business (if they were under age 65) or their longest-held job or business (if they were retired or aged 65+). Error bars represent 95% confidence interval.
§ Estimates are based on household interviews of a sample of the U.S. civilian, noninstitutionalized population. Adults currently or ever employed in the Armed Forces and unknowns with respect to smoking and industry (i.e., adults who were not currently employed and had never worked) were not included in the denominators when calculating percentages. Percentages are age adjusted to the projected 2000 U.S. population as the standard population using four age groups: 18-44, 45-64, 65-74, and 75 and over.
DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES
Centers For Disease Control And Prevention
National Institute For Occupational Safety And Health
