Smoking cessation programs in occupational settings

Abstract

For reasons of health and economics, the business community is displaying a growing interest in providing smoking cessation programs for employees. An examination of the current research on smoking cessation methods has revealed a number of promising directions that smoking cessation programs can take, for example, aversive smoking approaches combined with self-control strategies. A review of current smoking cessation programs in occupational settings revealed some emphasis on physician counseling, but a relatively greater emphasis on use of consultants (especially in proprietary programs) or of contingency programs to encourage nonsmoking.The smoking cessation programs in businesses can move in a number of innovative directions, including (a) increased use of inhouse programs with a variety of smoking cessation strategies; (b) greater emphasis on the training of program participants in nonsmoking behavioral skills, combined with contingency or incentive programs for smoking control; (c) vastly improved research methods, including complete followup assessments of program participants and chemical tests to validate their self-reported abstinence; (d) greater concern about the need for empirically tested procedures for recruitment of participants for the programs; and (e) expanded interchange among behavioral scientists (especially behavioral psychologists), health professionals in occupational health and medicine, union and employee groups, and management.