Abstract
OBJECTIVES: This study examined the prevalence of occasional smoking in a population of working adults, compared the characteristics of occasional and daily smokers, and prospectively examined the long-term smoking patterns of occasional smokers. METHODS: At 32 Minnesota work sites, 5681 randomly selected workers were surveyed at baseline; 5248 of these were surveyed again 2 years later. A cross-sectional sample of 5817 workers was also surveyed at follow-up. RESULTS: Occasional smokers constituted 18.3% of all smokers in the baseline sample and 21.5% of all smokers in the cross-sectional sample surveyed 2 years later. Baseline occasional smokers were significantly more likely than daily smokers to have quit at follow-up. Job monotony or repetitiveness was related to an increase to daily smoking at follow-up among baseline occasional smokers, and a change to a more restrictive workplace smoking policy was associated with quitting. CONCLUSIONS: The results confirm that a substantial proportion of smokers are low-rate users and suggest that the proportion may be rising. Further research on this group is warranted.
Full text
PDF
Selected References
These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.
- Benowitz N. L., Jacob P., 3rd, Kozlowski L. T., Yu L. Influence of smoking fewer cigarettes on exposure to tar, nicotine, and carbon monoxide. N Engl J Med. 1986 Nov 20;315(21):1310–1313. doi: 10.1056/NEJM198611203152102. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Biener L., Abrams D. B., Follick M. J., Dean L. A comparative evaluation of a restrictive smoking policy in a general hospital. Am J Public Health. 1989 Feb;79(2):192–195. doi: 10.2105/ajph.79.2.192. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Glasgow R. E., Klesges R. C., Klesges L. M., Somes G. R. Variables associated with participation and outcome in a worksite smoking control program. J Consult Clin Psychol. 1988 Aug;56(4):617–620. doi: 10.1037//0022-006x.56.4.617. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Jeffery R. W., Forster J. L., French S. A., Kelder S. H., Lando H. A., McGovern P. G., Jacobs D. R., Jr, Baxter J. E. The Healthy Worker Project: a work-site intervention for weight control and smoking cessation. Am J Public Health. 1993 Mar;83(3):395–401. doi: 10.2105/ajph.83.3.395. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Jeffery R. W., Kelder S. H., Forster J. L., French S. A., Lando H. A., Baxter J. E. Restrictive smoking policies in the workplace: effects on smoking prevalence and cigarette consumption. Prev Med. 1994 Jan;23(1):78–82. doi: 10.1006/pmed.1994.1011. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Klesges R. C., Brown K., Pascale R. W., Murphy M., Williams E., Cigrang J. A. Factors associated with participation, attrition, and outcome in a smoking cessation program at the workplace. Health Psychol. 1988;7(6):575–589. doi: 10.1037//0278-6133.7.6.575. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Lando H. A., McGovern P. G., Kelder S. H., Jeffery R. W., Forster J. L. Use of carbon monoxide breath validation in assessing exposure to cigarette smoke in a worksite population. Health Psychol. 1991;10(4):296–301. doi: 10.1037//0278-6133.10.4.296. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Shiffman S. Refining models of dependence: variations across persons and situations. Br J Addict. 1991 May;86(5):611–615. doi: 10.1111/j.1360-0443.1991.tb01817.x. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Shiffman S. Tobacco "chippers"--individual differences in tobacco dependence. Psychopharmacology (Berl) 1989;97(4):539–547. doi: 10.1007/BF00439561. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Wesnes K., Warburton D. M. Smoking, nicotine and human performance. Pharmacol Ther. 1983;21(2):189–208. doi: 10.1016/0163-7258(83)90072-4. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]