Objective: The primary objective of this study was to estimate current smoking among workers in the health care and social assistance sector.
Methods: We analyzed the 2008 to 2012 National Health Interview Survey data for adults (age 18 years or more) working in health care and social assistance sector who reported current cigarette smoking.
Results: Of the approximately 18.9 million health care and social assistance workers, 16.0% were current cigarette smokers. Smoking prevalence was highest in women (16.9%) and among workers: age 25 to 44 years (17.7%); with a high school education or less (24.4%); with income less than $35,000 (19.5%); with no health insurance (28.5%); in the nursing and residential care facilities (26.9%) industry; and in the material recording, scheduling, dispatching, and distributing (34.7%) occupations.
Conclusions: These findings suggest that specific group of workers in the health care and social assistance sector might particularly benefit from cessation programs and incentives to quit smoking.