Tobacco Use: Monitoring Tobacco Control Programs

Monitoring individual behavior is important, but is not sufficient, for understanding all the dynamics of tobacco control. Social and environmental forces exert a strong influence on whether and how much people use tobacco. Tobacco control efforts are funded and carried out primarily at the state level, and we actively monitor the progress of these efforts. Here is some of what we've learned:

• In 2001-02, nearly 71 percent of the US workforce worked under a smoke-free policy, but this percentage varies widely among states. Also during that time, 67 percent of people ages 18 and older reported that smoking is not allowed in their home. These represent significant increases since 1992-93 but indicate that there is still room for improvement. Females and older persons are more likely to work in smoke-free work environments.
• Results from the 1992-93 Tobacco Use Supplement to the Current Population Survey had suggested that there was broad support among Maryland residents for restrictions on smoking in the workplace. In 1994, the Maryland Occupational Safety and Health (MOSH) advisory board proposed a complete smoking ban in most Maryland workplaces to protect Maryland workers from the documented health risks associated with environmental tobacco smoke exposure. Maryland was ranked seventh in the country in reports of smoke-free workplaces by indoor workers according to the 2001-02 Tobacco Use Supplement.