The Effects of Smoke-Free Workplace Policies on Individual Smoking Behaviors in China

Abstract

Objective: Studies have shown that smoke-free (SF) workplace policies can create an SF environment, but most of them have focused only on reducing secondhand smoke (SHS) exposure or changing smoking behavior. Our study aims to explore the effects of SF workplace policies and the pathway between workplace SF policies and SHS exposure.

Method: 14 195 employees from 79 companies in China participated in this survey. Binary logistic regression is used to examine the direct effects of SF workplace policies. Structured Equation Modeling approach is used to test other indirect effects. The Sobel test is used to estimate the mediation effect.

Results: Working in a company with SF policies was associated with lower SHS exposure (odds ratio = 0.56; 95% confidence interval = 0.51 to 0.60). Such policy were associated with lower smoking prevalence (Coef. = -0.05, p < .05) and positively associated with smoking harm awareness (Coef. = 0.07, p < .05) and SHS harm awareness (Coef. = 0.05, p < .05). Sobel test suggests that approximately 16.3% of the effects on SHS exposure reduction are mediated through the channel of lower smoking prevalence for males. For smokers, we did not identify a direct effect of such policies on quitting intentions, but a significant indirect effect via increased smoking harm awareness (Coef. = 0.07, p < .05) and lower smoking consumption (Coef. = -0.10, p < .05) were found.

Conclusion: This study finds that SF workplace policies are not only associated with lower SHS exposure but also related to some indirect effects. Further mediation analyses for males confirmed that the effect on SHS exposure reduction is mediated through the channel of lower smoking prevalence.

Implications: This study joins the debate in recent years on the effects of workplace SF policies and provides evidence with more comprehensive data from Asia Best Workplace Mainland China program. It shows that SF workplace policies not only can reduce SHS exposure but also are associated with lower smoking prevalence, fewer cigarettes smoked, and higher smoking harm-related awareness. These findings provide valuable evidence to promote such policies in all workplaces and underline the need for more stringent SF policies to be enacted in all countries.