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SECOND -HAND SMOKE IN THE WORKPLACE.
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Proposes a study to examine how business organizations have responded to the health concerns connected to second-hand smoke.... More...
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Paper Abstract:
Proposes a study to examine how business organizations have responded to the health concerns connected to second-hand smoke. Relationship between passive smoking and disease and death. Background of the problem. Environmental Tobacco Smoke (ETS). Managerial response. Extensive literature review. Hypotheses; definition of terms; design strategy; data collection.
Paper Introduction:
Chapter One
Statement of the Problem
Purpose of the Study
The purpose of the study is to examine the ways in which business organizations have responded to concerns regarding the ill-effects of second-hand smoke in the workplace. Specifically, the purpose of the study is to determine how business managers perceive the problem of second-hand smoke and how they and their organizations have responded to this health concern. It has been theorized that employees who breathe in their co-workers’ cigarette smoke are significantly more at risk for the development of negative health conditions and significantly more likely to take sick leave than workers who are not exposed to workplace tobacco smoke (Second-hand smoke..., 2000).
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Davis, R. News & World Report, 125 (5), 2 -22. It can linktheory to practice and may be descriptive, explanatory, or exploratory innature (Babbie, 199 ). Until a populationof no less than 25 respondents, consisting of Human Resources or othermanagers designated by their firm as responsible for personnel policies,has been obtained, the researcher will continue random selection ofsubjects.Data Collection A total of 3 questionnaires along with an explanatory letter and astamped, self-addressed return envelope will be mailed to potentialparticipants in the study. Passive smoking is defined as the inhalation of the smoke from other people's cigarettes, pipes, and cigars. B., & Shi, J. Passive smoking. Had the non-published studies been included in the analysis leading to identification of 24 percent as the marker of increased ETS-included lung cancer, the estimate would have to be revised to about 15 percent (Copas & Shi, 2 ). This challenge consists of developing a work sitepolicy that effectively responds to regulations at the local, state, andfederal levels, worker concerns, and economic factors directly impactingupon the corporate bottom line. Part of this total represents morethan $5 million in property losses from tobacco-generated fires, $4 billion a year in work productivity losses, and $4 billion for extracleaning maintenance required because of smoking. Discomfort from environmental tobacco smoke among employees at worksites with minimal smoking restrictions -- United States, 1988. However, when an established facility attempts to superimposefiltration systems on an existing space, such systems tend to be both moreexpensive and less efficient in cleaning air. At the same time, organizations such as the National Cancer Institute(NCI) and the U.S. ETS contains about 4, chemical compounds (e.g., formaldehyde, cyanide, carbon monoxide, ammonia, nicotine, and cancer-causing agents such as benzene and N-nitrosamines); . Belmont, CA:Wadsworth Publishing. Where there's smoke, there's ire.Engineered Systems, 17 (1), 92-96. (1998). Somejurisdictions, generally at the local level, have attempted to ban smokingin privately owned bars and restaurants. Theliterature review will serve as the basis of a survey instrument developedby the researcher which will capture new attitudinal and factual data frombusiness managers and decision-makers for whom ETS is a concern.The Scientific Debate The scientific debate regarding ETS centers on two differentquestions: first, have agencies such as the EPA and OSHA overestimated thenegative health effects of ETS; and second, whether or not anoverestimation of these ill-effects has been promulgated, are the healtheffects of ETS sufficiently significant to warrant both an organizationaland a regulatory response? Seeking millionsof dollars in damages, these plaintiffs claimed that their respiratoryillnesses were caused by second-hand smoke aboard jetliners. From the perspective of business managers, ETS has become an issue ofgrowing significance. While these data are compelling, Josefson (1997) pointed out thatthere were some methodological flaws or limits in the study which shouldbe recognized. L. A separate section of the survey instrument will provide a 5-pointLikert-type scale to capture attitudinal information from respondents.Issues included in this section of the instrument will range from beliefsabout the effect of ETS, businesses' concerns and costs regarding ETS,perceived efficacy of anti-smoking policies, and perceptions of workersatisfaction with such policies. Studying the problem from a managerial perspective provides anopportunity not only to review the current scientific research on theeffects of ETS, but also to explore the responses of business to thisproblem, identify model policies and programs on ETS, and obtain first-handinformation from business decision-makers for whom ETS and related policiesor programs are realities rather than abstract considerations.Problem Statement Phrased as a question, the problem to be explored in this study is:What are the attitudes of business managers or decision-makers toward theproblems created by ETS in the workplace and the necessity of implementingeffective policy and program responses to this problem? 63 percent of all adults favor a designated smoking area at workplace sites with 32 percent favoring a total smoking ban; . ETS programs and policies are defined as formal, disseminated, structured company-specific if not company-wide protocols regarding the use or nonuse of tobacco products that are burned in the workplace (Eriksen, 2 1). CDWis a Fortune 1, company with 1,5 employees which was recentlyselected as one of the 1 best companies to work for in America byFortune. However, as Turpin (2 ) maintains, the externalair must be cleaner than the indoor air and in many metropolitan areas,this is not the case. It is difficult for an employer with multiple locations toinstitute a company-wide policy because of the variations in restrictionsthat can change dramatically from state to state and even county to county. As laws andregulatory guidelines change, a firm will find that it may well need tomodify its current smoking policy to meet these legal mandates (Grensing-Pophal, 1999). Babbie (199 ) notes that this significance level indicates that anassociation as large as the one observed could not be expected to resultfrom sampling error more than five times out of 1 . In the mid-198 s,only 3 percent of respondents were banned from workplace smoking. At the same time, there is evidence that these epidemiologicalstudies, which have led to strict regulation of workplace smoking bygovernment agencies and private sector firms alike, may have been eitherflawed methodologically or have led to an overestimation of a potentialhealth risk (Copas & Shi, 2 ). Chapter Three MethodologyDesign Strategy Babbie (199 ) has suggested that when a researcher is interested incollecting new factual and attitudinal data from a diverse or extensivegrouping of individuals or organizations,a quantitative survey may provide the most cost-effective andscientifically sound strategy. As Eriksen (2 1) hasnoted, as of June 1995, some 47 states had restricted smoking at some levelin workplaces or in public places. First, only women were participants, which could prevent acomplete generalization of results to males. Smokin' in the workplace. If smoking is not permitted in the workplace, it may have positiveeffects on employee health, will reduce certain costs, and will comply withall laws and ordinances. Making Your Workplace Smoke-Free.Washington, D.C.: U.S. Robinson, J. Conversely, Copas and Shi (2 ) assert that it is very possible thatthe very studies employed by EPA and other government agencies indetermining that ETS was a major workplace health concern may be flawed andtheir results overstated. billion. Alcoholism &Drug Abuse Weekly, 12 (37), 8. The air we breathe: Publicattitudes toward smoking are complex, but the facts for business are clear. Robinson and Speer (1995) do state that many privately ownedbusinesses and facilities do not entirely ban smoking indoors, but haveelected to use the "designated smoking area" and an enhanced ventilationsystem to permit employees to smoke in designated areas. Environmental Protection Agency. These authors conducted a design reanalysis of 37previously published epidemiological studies that identified a directcausal link between ETS and lung cancer in nonsmokers. HR Magazine,44 (5), 58-64. District Court decision vacating several chapters ofthe EPA's initial report, continues to assert that its findings on thedangers of ETS remain valid and that its recommendations should be adoptedacross all workplace settings (Second-hand smoke, 1993). Eriksen, M. For smokers, the rightto smoke in the workplace is often positioned as a civil rights issue or apersonal health choice. Passive smoking: History repeats itself.British Medical Journal, 315 (7114), 961-963. (1993). Reanalysis of epidemiologicalevidence on lung cancer and passive smoking. In the airline industry, cigarette smoking has been banned on alldomestic American and most international flights for quite some time.Recently, 3 flight attendants claiming never to have smoked filed 3 individual lawsuits in Miami against U.S. M. Both these measures of association can be tested for statisticalsignificance (Babbie, 199 ). Policies can and perhaps be modified as needed and should beconstantly evaluated with respect to their efficacy. The cost of heating or cooling the vast amount ofoutdoor air is also prohibitive, leaving business manager in general andhospitality managers in particular with the necessity of purchasingfiltration systems. (199 ). These systems are not particularly difficult toinstall when a restaurant or other facility is being built from the groundup. In 1993, only 47 percent ofNCI survey respondents reported that this was the case. The second-hand smoke charade. References Armentano, D. It is legal to smoke if one is an adult,and it is only through enforcement of local and state ordinances and thedevelopment of a workplace smoking policy that smokers' rights can becurtailed. What results is that the employer is put into a "Catch-22"situation. Clearing the Air - Perspectives onEnvironmental Tobacco Smoke. It may also not be adequate to protect nonsmokers from ETS exposure andcould even enhance the adverse effects of smoking on smokers themselves. People in the East,Midwest and West are more likely to support smoking bans of all types thanpeople from the southern tobacco belt, while nonwhites are more likely thanwhites to favor bans. Both simple descriptive statistics will be generated bycomputing mean scores for each item or frequency distributions fordemographic data. (2 ).American Family Physician, 61, (4), 12 5. Turpin (2 ) noted that in 1994, OSHA proposed a rule statingthat smoke cannot be cleaned from the air before it reaches the breathingzone of nearby employees, thus indicating that even a designated smokingroom equipped with state-of-the-art filtration and ventilation systems maynot be sufficient to permit employers to use this strategy in dealing withETS. P. On the other hand, businesses also face very real and quiteextensive costs with regard to such issues as property losses from firescaused by cigarettes or other tobacco products, the costs of extra cleaningand maintenance, and the costs of developing expensive ventilation systemsin those instances where smoking (perhaps in designated areas) ispermitted. A secondaryconcern herein is whether or not business managers from a small sample ofsuch individuals have fully accepted and responded to regulatory guidelineson controlling ETS in the workplace. Lexington, MA: Lexington Books. California recently voted toprohibit smoking in any such facility, but to date no other state haselected to pass such broad and sweeping regulations. Multivariate analysis using chi square willbe conducted to test each of the four research hypotheses presented inChapter One, above. The Agency suggests that whileit might be preferable to prohibit smoking indoors, it is possible todevelop an effective ETS control program by limiting smoking to roomsspecially designed to prevent smoke from escaping into others areas of thefacility. (2 ). Survey research is logical, deterministic,general, parsimonious, and specific. Managers are advised to carefullyreview any and all state, local, or other business regulations inconjunction with legal counsel to determine what regulations apply in thearea. There were also more than 8 local ordinances imposing restrictions on tobacco use. (2 ). D. Eriksen (2 1) offered the following summaries of the negative healtheffects of ETS: . However, thebeliefs of business managers regarding the dangers of ETS may be directlyrelated to their responses to regulatory mandates or worker concerns.Hypotheses Based on the problem statement presented above, three researchhypotheses have been developed and will be tested in the study: H1: Business managers will identify ETS as a workplace health,safety, and economic issue of significance. However, Tollison (1988) has pointed out that ETS raises many complexissues for debate and analysis. New or potential hires are entitled toinformation regarding company policy and are also entitled to being toldbefore accepting a position what that policy is and what will be requiredof them. Whether one accepts at face value the various (and potentially flawedor inadequate) epidemiological studies that underpin NCI, EPA and OSHAregulations and pronouncements regarding ETS, the reality faced by businessmanagers is that they must implement effective responses to and policiestoward ETS. Specifically, the purpose of the studyis to determine how business managers perceive the problem of second-handsmoke and how they and their organizations have responded to this healthconcern. Eriksen (2 1) described a model smoke-free policy and procedure andpointed out that such a policy must define the company's position onsmoking within the facility, identify any interior or exterior designatedsmoking areas, establish a procedure for disseminating information on thepolicy to workers and visitors, and present a detailed description of howworker violations of the policy will be treated. Using data obtained from the local Chamber of Commerce, randomselection of potential respondents meeting the foregoing criteria will beconducted with the "nth number" method of randomization. tobacco makers. Headden, S. It provides for the quantification ofdata that then become a permanent source of information. Q. Public healthreports indicate that expenditures in the United States directly related tosmoking total $72 billion per year. Passive smoking doubles risk of heart disease.British Medical Journal, 314, 1572. . Additionally, thisreport found ETS hazards to be omnipresent in bars, restaurants, and otherentertainment sites where people enjoy leisure time and where countlessother Americans earn their living. U.S. Survey Research Methods. A systematic review of epidemiological studies on ETS places the estimated increased risk of lung cancer at about 24 percent for nonsmokers; . In the 198 s, for example, a joint research project undertaken bythe Office of the Surgeon General of the United States (then Dr. EverettKoop) and the National Academy of Sciences concluded that passive smoke didcause lung cancer. NIC report on the health effects of secondhand smoke. AsGrensing-Pophal (1999) points out, organizations in every business sectorhave some type of policy addressing this issue.For example, CDW Computer Center Incorporated in Vernon Hills, Illinois,has banned smoking on its entire work site, including its parking lot. Nevertheless, Bradbury (1999) reported on evidence of a 91 percentincreased risk of stroke for nonsmokers and people who had not smoked forat least ten years due to ETS. Knight-Ridder Tribune Business News, January 2 , Item 21 7A. ETS is still classified as a Group A (known human) carcinogen (as are asbestos and benzene); . If this strategy is selected, the EPA believes that theorganization must ensure that air from the smoking room is not recirculatedto other parts of the building, is exhausted directly to the outside of thebuilding, and the ventilation system should provide the smoking room itselfwith 6 cubic feet per minute (cfm) of supply air per smoker. (1999). A 1998 study conducted by the NCI involved 8 ,661 American workers ofwhom, 65 percent stated that they worked in places where smoking was bannedin either the office or other common areas. The Lancet, 354 (9179), 653. (1997). TheEPA reported on the results of a study by the University of Maryland'sSurvey Research Center which confirmed that office buildings, factories,and other work sites account for about one-half of Americans' workplaceexposure to second-hand smoke (Robinson & Speer, 1995). Inferential statistical analysis employing a Pearson's rcorrelation coefficient will be used to identify any association betweenthe type of smoking policy that the firm has and the attitudes of businessmanagers toward such policies. British Medical Journal, 32 ,(7232), 417-423. For restaurant and barmanagers, who need to concern themselves not only with their clientele, butwith their workers' concerns, the problem is therefore quite substantial(Turpin, 2 ). Babbie, E. 57 percent favor designated smoking sections in restaurants, while 38 percent favor a total ban; . A total of 21 states were thenregulating smoking in private work sites. A recent edition of Alcoholism & Drug AbuseWeekly (Second-hand smoke poses..., 2 ) stated that a study published inthe Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health indicated that employeeswho breathe in their colleagues' smoke are significantly more likely torequire sick leave and medical attention than other workers who are notexposed to ETS. In other words, thebusiness manager must create as consistent and comprehensive a policy onworkplace smoking as possible. (1999). TheAgency, despite a U.S. Onthe other hand, employers are equally challenged by complaints from workersthat workplace smoking (even in designated smoking areas with seeminglyefficient ventilation systems) continues to pose a threat to their health. . Finally, some businesses have been vulnerable to litigationcosts related to claims filed with OSHA, the EPA, or under the Americanswith Disabilities Act (ADA) (Grensing-Pophal, 1999). At the same time, 95 percent of smokers oppose atotal ban on smoking, while 89 percent of nonsmokers and 8 percent ofpeople who have never smoked also oppose such a ban. The followingdefinitions of terms will be employed herein: . Osteenvacated several of the elements or research studies cited by EPA in itsreport on ETS (Headden, 1998), EPA, OSHA, many (if not all) members of theresearch and medical communities remain convinced that ETS is a majorhealth problem. An explanatoryobjective requires some type of multivariate analysis or the simultaneousexamination of two or more variables. Even those who believe that these data areoverstated and that the actual linkages between ETS and deaths due to lungcancer and heart disease may be significantly less than has been estimatedrecognize that ETS is a workplace issue. Davis (1997) statedthat Josefson (1997) reported on a study conducted under the aegis of theHarvard School of Public Health that followed 32, 46 healthy, non-smokingwomen enrolled in a nurses' health study for a period of 1 years. In selectingsuch a population, several potential business sectors (i.e., restaurants,bars, motels, hotels, public institutions, and hospitals) will not beincluded because the review of literature differentiates between theseestablishments and other workplace sites (Turpin, 2 ). This study employed a sample of 521 patientswith a first-ever acute stroke and 1,851 community controls. . Turpin, J. Finally, the study was based on self-reports of participants, who identified their exposure to ETS as minimal,moderate, or regular - and there were no objective criteria included todetermine if these self-reports were accurate. (1998). During the 1 -year study, 152 cases of cardiac disease and 7heart attacks occurred among the subjects, 25 of which were fatal. R. The EPA has also recommended that every company develop,implement, evaluate, and then modify a smoking policy which effectivelyprotects nonsmokers from involuntary exposure to tobacco smoke. It is this type of surveythat will be employed in the present study.Population Determination The population to be studied by survey sampling consists ofa group of no less than 25 and no more than 3 business managersin companies employing a minimum of 25 employees and physically locatedwithin the geographic region in which the researcher lives. Bradbury, J. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), are equallyconvinced that there are very real linkages between second-hand smoke andlung cancer as well as heart disease, nasal sinus cancer, sudden infantdeath syndrome, and many other damaging and even life-threatening diseasesin adults and children (NCI report on, 2 ). They have done so in response to regulations issued by the EPAand the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), demandsexpressed by employees for a smoke-free environment, the escalating cost ofhealth insurance and health care due to cigarette induced diseases, andother concerns regarding the potential property losses from fires, workproductivity decline, and increased expense in ventilation facilities andmaintenance (Grensing-Pophal, 1999). The survey instrument will consist of a coded(to protect anonymity and ensure confidentiality), multi-segment surveycapturing demographic information on the individual respondent, therespondent's firm, its employees, and its current policies on ETS.Respondents will also be asked to identify which of a series of possibleelements presented by the researcher are included in their company'ssmoking policy. It is also known as environmental tobacco smoke or ETS (Second-hand smoke, 1993). Grensing-Pophal (1999) claims that this particular practice maynot be legal. This andsimilar earlier lawsuits against Big Tobacco have been resolved largely infavor of the plaintiffs. There is clear evidence of publication bias in these studies(with a publication probability of .8); . H4:Nonsmoking business managers will be more likely than business managers who smoke to rate ETS as a significant workplace health issue.Definition of Terms Several key terms are integral to the present study. (1997). Human resource policies must be structured so that smokers do not acquiredowntime advantages not offered to nonsmokers (Eriksen, 2 1; Grensing-Pophal 1999). Lacking federal oversight in this area places the burden of developingordinances on local jurisdictions and an even greater burden on employers,many of whom simply elect to create ETS policies that are more restrictivethan those of the public sector. Diluting smoke-filled air with outside air is one potential solutionto the problem of ETS. A short list of such issues includes:possible health effects of ETS on nonsmokers; the measurement of ETS andother substances in indoor environments; economic incentives and theappropriate public policy toward ETS; law and civil liberties; collectivebargaining and corporate management; the behavior of interest groups andbureaucracies; and how smoking itself and ETS are meaningfully differentfrom other behaviors that could be objectionable. pp. Nonsmokers exposed to ETS have higher death rates from cardiovascular disease than nonsmokers who are not exposed to ETS; . Josefson, D. Tollison, R. As Grensing-Pophal (1999) has commented, employers aredeveloping ways to eliminate smoking throughout the workplace for economicas well as health reasons. Second-hand smoke.Available at www.epa.gov/iaq/pubs/etsbro.html. The EPA (Second-hand smoke, 1993) has offered several alternativesolutions to companies with respect to ETS. Other data revealed in this poll were: . Numerous epidemiological studies undertaken since 1982 purport toshow an association between passive or involuntary smoking and disease.Davis (1997) states that studies have demonstrated a relationship betweenpassive smoking and 3, annual deaths from lung cancer and between 35, and 62, deaths from heart disease. Practical policy guidelines for business managers and decision-makershave been identified in the literature. (2 1). Given that theinstrument used in the study has not been used previously, only contentvalidity will be established through duplication and restatement ofattitudinal items on the questionnaire. Business managers or decision-makers are understood in this report as consisting of that group of individuals who are charged with setting company policy, implementing workplace programs, and responding to external and internal regulatory or other pressures. Given this reality, this report willexplore several aspects of ETS or second-hand smoke in the businessenvironment. H2: Business managers will support policies and programs that eliminate workplace smoking. Secondhand smokescreen: Tobacco firms worried foryears about risks of passive smoke. On the one hand, ETS is believed by many to be directly associatedwith increased fatalities and a variety of illnesses which can be costly toemployers not only in terms of lost productivity, but also in terms ofincreased health care expenditures for smoking and nonsmoking employeesalike. The U.S. There are smokers' rights groups that sometimes challengesuch policies and which characterize them as a form of discrimination. As a consequence of these health concerns and economic costsemanating from ETS, the prudent business manager is confronted with a verysignificant challenge. Healthy,non-smoking women who reported that they were regularly espoused to ETSeither at home or at work had a 91 percent greater relative risk of heartattack than those who had minimal or occasional exposure (a 58 percentgreater relative risk than no exposure). While separatelyventilated areas permit smokers to remain indoors, reduce nonsmokers'exposure to ETS, and comply with most laws and ordinances, this is a costly(in terms of dollars and space use as well as equipment purchase) strategy. Removing the source or eliminating smokersmay be particularly difficult in workplaces such as restaurants and barsgiven that restaurateurs believe that as much as 25 to 3 percent of theirclientele simply switch to different restaurants that welcome smokers. Copas, J. Headden (1998) stated that as important as the EPA's report(discussed above) was in convincing the public and businesses that ETS wasa problem that demanded an immediate response, there have been any numberof significant studies since the 197 s which have also addressed thistopic. It was the authors' view that such a bias did exist and that thefollowing conclusions should be reached: . Congress has not directly addressed the legality of suchprograms (Grensing-Pophal, 1999). It will be geared at determining how a specificpopulation of business managers and their organizations have responded toor plan to respond to the problem of ETS in the workplace. Available at www.cato.org/dailys/9-28-98.html. Second-hand smoke is defined as a mixture of the smoke given off by the burning end of a cigarette, pipe, or cigar, and the smoke exhaled from the lungs of smokers. These results,along with those reported by Davis (1997), support the conventional wisdomregarding the heath effects of repeated exposure to ETS. The number ofindividuals who want to criminalize smoking has also decreased from 14percent in 199 to 11 percent in 1994. However, the long-established conventional wisdom - and many withinthe medical and scientific research communities agree with this view - isthat ETS, second-hand smoke, or passive smoking are definitively linked ascausal agents to increased risk of nonsmokers' developing lung cancer,heart and respiratory diseases or infections, and a host of other healthproblems (Bradbury, 1999; Davis, 1997; Josefson, 1997). Robinson and Speer (1995) also reported that public polls conductedin the mid-199 s centered on attitudes toward smoking indicate that 78percent of adults, including 63 percent of people who smoke, believe thatETS is harmful to adults. Standard tables of values will be used todetermine whether any associations are statistically significant and if so,at what level they are significant. While cigarette advertising bans - afederal as well as state regulation - were still favored by 45 percent ofAmericans as of 1994, this was a decline from 49 percent in 199 . The EPA (Second-hand smoke, 1993) has classified second-hand smoke orETS as a known cause of lung cancer in humans or as a Group A carcinogen.Further, the agency, based on its own report which was peer-reviewed by 18eminent, independent scientists and released in 1993, has also issuedwarnings to the public and private sectors and to individuals on thedangers of ETS. The second purpose of this review is to establish the frameworkwithin which the quantitative portion of the study will be conducted. This firm has taken a proactive stance toward ETS and contendsthat its policy has assisted workers in making the difficult decision tostop smoking. Department of Health and Human Services. The next section ofthis review of literature will examine the responses to ETS of businessmanagers and the difficulties that such decision-makers have encountered inresolving the problem.The Managerial Perspective and Response Many business managers have decided that the correct thing to do withregard to ETS, whether or not the EPA has overestimated its health illeffects, is to develop policies and programs which directly limit orrestrict smoking in their facilities. Employees should also be participants in the development of an ETSpolicy and are entitled to advance notice of any policy shift andpotentially to assistance or incentives should they choose to quit smoking. Other studies indicate that passivesmoking plays a role in cases of bronchitis and pneumonia, asthma, middleear infection, and low birth weight as well as sudden infant death amongchildren (Davis, 1997). Though the amount of ambient smoke inhaled by nonsmokers is minimal in comparison to that of smokers, it nevertheless represents a health problem (Passive smoking, 1998). While it is not the purpose of thisreport to examine the validity and reliability of the scientific studieseither confirming or refuting the putative effects of second-hand smoke inthe workplace, the study will consider these effects as part of its largerpurpose of determining how business organizations deal with the issue andthe most effective managerial responses to the problem.Background of the Problem For better than two decades, members of the scientific and regulatorycommunities alike have repeatedly insisted that exposure to environmentaltobacco smoke (ETS) is a potential occupational carcinogen and that it istherefore necessary for both government and business organizations to takea proactive role in reducing exposure to ETS (Discomfort from environmental..., 1992). were $5 . This study, which surveyed about 1 , Hong King policeofficers and which was conducted by staff of Hong Kong University,identified a direct relationship between the length of time officers wereexposed to ETS and their use of sick time and doctor's visits forrespiratory conditions. Passive smoking, not just active smoking,increases risk of acute stroke. In one year alone (1993), the total economic costs associated with smoking-attributed medical care in the U.S. For the present study, the level of significance to be employed is p< .5. As of this writing, the OSHA rule remains a proposal and not aregulatory reality. A number of corporations in the United States haveestablished policies that either limit or totally prohibit smoking in theworkplace. (2 ). (1998). Turpin (2 ) states that for manybusinesses which have elected to create interior designated smoking rooms,the first issue which must be addressed is the question of ventilation.Manufacturers have developed equipment that is capable of amelioratingtobacco smoke. As educational level and income level increases, adults are increasingly likely to favor a total ban on smoking in restaurants and workplaces than the use of designated smoking areas (Robinson & Speer, 1995). Tollison (1988), writing in the wake of government regulatory effortsto control ETS in the workplace, has noted that the complexity of theseissues is seldom addressed in public discussions, largely because opponentsof regulation and advocates of what could be called choice can be presumedto operate primarily in terms of vested interests. Second-hand smoke poses workplace problems. However, with more and more local jurisdictions issuingordinances impacting upon businesses, the problem of coping with ETS andthe increasingly stringent regulatory climate (as well as workers' owncomplaints and concerns and businesses' health care and other costsassociated with smoking) has increased in significance. As Eriksen (2 1) suggests, the smoke-freeenvironment is difficult to maintain, but may well be the best response tothe problem. 1-2. Cato Today'sCommentary. Grensing-Pophal (1999) outlined the economic costs of workplacesmoking and characterized these costs as staggering and therefore impactingupon managers' determination to eliminate workplace smoking. Respondents will also be asked toidentify whether or not they themselves are smokers.Data Analysis The independent variable in this study is the presence ofa formal smoking policy, with the dependent variables being the type ofpolicy (i.e., no smoking versus designated smoking areas) implemented atthe company. The next section of this reviewwill address the regulatory climate surrounding ETS and businessactivities.The Regulatory Climate EPA's (Secondhand smoke, 1993) findings and recommendations, alongwith regulatory suggestions promulgated by OSHA, do not constitute a formalregulatory framework concerning ETS in the workplace. Hiring policies must be reviewed to ensure that smokers are notvictims of discrimination. It is anticipated that a number of appropriate tables and otherfigures will be generated by this data analysis procedure.It is further anticipated that the data will result in acceptance of eachof the four research hypotheses. District Judge William L. Finally, the central decision which must be made by the decision-maker with regard to workplace smoking is whether or not the company willbecome a smoke-free environment or establish separate, designated, andproperly ventilated smoking areas. (1992).MMWR Weekly, 41 (2 ), 351-354. The research design for the present study will be descriptive andexplanatory in nature. In sum, despite the fact that U.S. As of 1994,54 percent of employers in the United States had smoke-free policies, whichmay be an indication of the ways in which managers are responding to thisissue. Some companies not only ban smoking on their premises, both indoorand outdoors, but also are moving toward rejection of any job applicant whosmokes. Flight attendants' suit links respiratory ailments to second-handsmoke. Many smokers and nonsmokers as well question thereliability and validity of scientific studies used to bolster argumentsfor restricting smoking (Armentano, 1998). It has been theorized that employees who breathe in their co-workers' cigarette smoke are significantly more at risk for the developmentof negative health conditions and significantly more likely to take sickleave than workers who are not exposed to workplace tobacco smoke (Second-hand smoke..., 2 ). EPA's (Secondhand smoke, 1993) data, whether subject to publicationbias or methodological limitations or not, has been quite compelling andhas directly influenced the ways in which business organizations haveresponded to the ETS issue. Inthe 1994 Gallup poll described by Robinson and Speer (1995), 38 percent ofrespondents wanted local ordinances created to ban smoking in allrestaurants, 32 percent supported workplace smoking bans, and 2 percentwould completely ban smoking in hotels and motels. Other research indicated that while ETS was associatedcausally with lung cancer in nonsmokers, it was also associated at a higherrate of significance with heart disease and other illnesses. Interestingly, while Americans would appear to be less willing tohave government impose outright bans on smoking, the American people arebecoming more and more assertive about reducing their exposure to ETS. Chapter Two Review of LiteratureOverview of the Chapter The purpose of this review of literature is first, to identify keythemes in the scholarly literature on specific topics such as thescientific evidence supporting or refuting the health dangers of ETSspecific to the workplace, the regulatory climate impacting upon ETS andbusinesses' responses to those regulations, and model programs and policiesrelated to ETS control in the workplace. This has led the airline industry to undertakestrict enforcement of its ban on in-flight smoking by passengers (Flightattendants' suit..., 2 ). (2 ). The ETSportion of this longitudinal study began in 1982 and asked participantsages 36 to 61 to complete questionnaires indicating exposure to ETS at homeand at work. Chapter One Statement of the ProblemPurpose of the Study The purpose of the study is to examine the ways in which businessorganizations have responded to concerns regarding the ill-effects ofsecond-hand smoke in the workplace. Mosby's Medical, Nursing & Allied HealthDictionary, Edition 5, 68 3. Secondly, only nurses -individuals in a high-stress work role - participated, and no control wasincluded to determine what other factors (e.g., stress) may have impactedupon participants' physical health. (1995). Eriksen (2 1) notes that there areadvantages and disadvantages to each of these strategies. H3: Business managers will report that their firms have ETS curtailment or elimination policies in place. Thus, the problem of managers withregard to ETS is not limited to any specific type of workplace setting orenvironment; rather, it is a problem that has the potential to impact uponbusiness decision-makers and workers at any and all business operations orfacilities (Robinson & Speer, 1995). It can be removed, the space can be diluted with outsideair, or air can be filtered. (1988). P., & Speer, T. In 1993, the EPA released a highly influential report in which it wasaffirmed that ETS was directly associated with cancer in human beings. American Demographics, 17,(6), 24-3 . Grensing-Pophal, L. It is also important to recognize that no ETS policy is engravedin stone. Many localgovernments have banned smoking entirely in public buildings, facilitiesand institutions such as schools, libraries, government office and servicebuildings, public hospitals and public health or social work clinics andagencies, and in enclosed public transportation centers or vehicles. A meta-analytictechnique was employed to determine what studies of this association wereactually published - and whether or not a "publication bias" existed whichwould favor publication of research studies that did support the ETS/cancerlink. As stated earlier, it is not thepurpose of this study to evaluate empirical research on ETS. Stateand federal government property is also affected by this trend, withrelatively few American public buildings or facilities (i.e., buildingowned and operated under the aegis of some branch of government) permittingindoor smoking. Potential respondents will be selected based on an identification ofthose local companies that maintain business offices where administrative,financial, clerical, data processing, and other such jobs or work types arepresent.
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