Smoking Bans and Health: Effects of Exposure on the Job

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DESCRIPTION: While few would dispute that smoking has a negative impact on health, there is less of a consensus about the health effects of environmental tobacco smoke (ETS), or second-hand smoke. While there are a host of studies of workplace bans on smoking, many suffer from possible selection bias. This research aims to examine whether workplace smoking bans implemented by state or local authorities- instead of by individual firms--are successful in reducing smoking and exposure to ETS. This research also aims to examine whether workplace smoking bans improve infant and adult health outcomes, including mortality, by reducing smoking and exposure to ETS. These goals are to be accomplished by, in part, a comparison of health outcomes for workers in the food services industry and other workers, before and after implementation of smoking bans. This research contrasts food services workers and other workers because workers at bars and restaurants face high rates of ETS from patrons in the absence of smoking bans. While smoking bans may influence own rates of smoking similarly for food services and other workers, workers at bars and restaurants should experience a relatively large, exogenous decrease in ETS compared with other workers following implementation of a smoking ban. Data from the Current Population Survey Tobacco Use Supplements, the California Tobacco Surveys, several sources of birth certificate data, and death certificate data are utilized to examine the effect of various legislation banning smoking in public places, including private workplaces. The study focuses on smoking bans in California and in El Paso, Texas, but also examines the impact of statewide bans using nationally representative data.