Latest News
Member Poll
Quitting smoking easier in hazard-reduced workplaces: truckie surveyWorkers are more likely to quit smoking and participate in workplace health programs if their employers proactively address and reduce the hazards they're exposed to on the job, the authors of a US study have found.
In a survey of more than 500 truck drivers and trucking-terminal workers, the researchers found that more than 40 per cent were smokers - nearly double the rate for all other workers.
The researchers said that truck drivers were exposed to a number of stressors that had been shown to increase the likelihood of tobacco use. These included high job strain, long hours, shift work, irregular meal times and sleep patterns, anxiety over traffic and tight schedules.
Smoking was also linked to boredom, monotonous work, inadequate sleep and economic difficulties, the researchers said. Blue-collar workers were more likely to smoke than white-collar professionals - and less likely to quit.
Truck drivers were also exposed to a host of other hazards, they said, including excessive noise, diesel exhausts, carbon monoxide and lead, and dangers associated with driving and the loading and unloading of cargo.
Interestingly, the researchers found that in workplaces where these latter hazards were reduced (through the action of employers), workers were more inclined to attempt to quit smoking and participate in other health programs.
"Employer efforts to create a safe and healthy work environment may contribute to increasing workers' receptivity to messages from their employer regarding health behaviour change," they said.
"Resources in the work environment, such as emotional support and job decision latitude, have been shown to facilitate smoking cessation and to be associated with smoking fewer cigarettes and lower relapse rates."
Adequate sleep, an awareness of the "negative social consequences of tobacco use", and the encouragement of co-workers also contributed to cessation rates, the researchers said.
Discouragement from co-workers, conversely, contributed to reduced confidence in the ability to quit, they noted.
Work Experiences and Tobacco Use: Findings From the Gear Up for Health Study. Glorian Sorenson, et al, US, Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, Volume 51, Number 1, January 2009.
In a survey of more than 500 truck drivers and trucking-terminal workers, the researchers found that more than 40 per cent were smokers - nearly double the rate for all other workers.
The researchers said that truck drivers were exposed to a number of stressors that had been shown to increase the likelihood of tobacco use. These included high job strain, long hours, shift work, irregular meal times and sleep patterns, anxiety over traffic and tight schedules.
Smoking was also linked to boredom, monotonous work, inadequate sleep and economic difficulties, the researchers said. Blue-collar workers were more likely to smoke than white-collar professionals - and less likely to quit.
Truck drivers were also exposed to a host of other hazards, they said, including excessive noise, diesel exhausts, carbon monoxide and lead, and dangers associated with driving and the loading and unloading of cargo.
Interestingly, the researchers found that in workplaces where these latter hazards were reduced (through the action of employers), workers were more inclined to attempt to quit smoking and participate in other health programs.
"Employer efforts to create a safe and healthy work environment may contribute to increasing workers' receptivity to messages from their employer regarding health behaviour change," they said.
"Resources in the work environment, such as emotional support and job decision latitude, have been shown to facilitate smoking cessation and to be associated with smoking fewer cigarettes and lower relapse rates."
Adequate sleep, an awareness of the "negative social consequences of tobacco use", and the encouragement of co-workers also contributed to cessation rates, the researchers said.
Discouragement from co-workers, conversely, contributed to reduced confidence in the ability to quit, they noted.
Work Experiences and Tobacco Use: Findings From the Gear Up for Health Study. Glorian Sorenson, et al, US, Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, Volume 51, Number 1, January 2009.
