Smoking Among Occupational Categories
Smoking is more likely among certain demographics in the workplace. The study that was conducted by SAMHSA has some surprising results.
article by Khoi Nguyen
What you do for a living can be correlated to whether you smoke or not. According to a study titled Cigarette Use among Adults Employed Full Time by Occupational Category. This study was by administered by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA). The researchers placed workers in 22 major occupational categories and workers employed in the food preparation and serving-related occupations accounted for the highest percentage of smokers (44.7% of workers in this category smoked within the past month of the survey). They were closely followed by construction work and mining (or extraction work) workers, who had a 42.9% rate of smoking. Those who smoked the least were those who worked in education, training and library occupations (12.3%) and the life, physical, and social sciences area (15.4%).
Smoking – by the Numbers
Based on 2006-2008 survey data and smoking behavior within the last month of the survey:
• 33.6 million full-time workers (accounting for 28% of the work force) ages 18 to 64 reported that they smoked cigarettes.
• Unemployed people ages 18 to 64 smoked more—45.4% of them smoked.
• Most smokers were full-time workers (61.6%), but this was due to the fact that two-thirds of the population works full-time.
• Among full-time workers, the rate of smoking was higher among those age 18 to 25 (40.1%) than those in older age ranges. In the 26 to 34 age range, 33.9% smoked. For those ages 35 to 49, 26.7% smoked, while only 20.6% smoked in the 50 to 64 age range.
• Full-time employed males were more likely to smoke cigarettes than were their female counterparts. The exception occurs among those in the community and social services occupations and healthcare practitioners and technical occupations, which had more females smoke than males.
Applications of the Study Data
According to SAMHSA Acting Administrator, Eric Broderick, D.D.S., M.P.H., the study provides important insight on specific workplace groups that can be used in developing targeted programs aimed at getting people to quit. He considers the workplace an ideal location to initiate programs to educate employees about the risks of cigarette smoking and the increased adverse health risks that it causes.
Dangers of Smoking
Cigarettes are highly addictive and nicotine is known as one of the most addictive substances. Regular smoking can result in physical dependency with long-lasting withdrawal symptoms. Smokers usually have to smoke regularly and have strong cravings. Without a cigarette for a prolonged period of time, they encounter such symptoms as anxiety, irritability, restlessness, and even depression.
Smoking contributes to chronic illnesses and is the leading preventable cause of death in the United States. Regular smokers are at an increased risk of developing lung cancer and other forms of cancer, heart disease, circulatory problems, and bronchitis.
You not only put yourself at risk, but others as well. Smoking during pregnancy can harm your unborn child, resulting in low birth weight and other complications. Second-hand smoke puts others, especially children and people with asthma, in the same health dangers as you.
