The 131st Annual Meeting (November 15-19, 2003) of APHA

Abstract #56343

Paula M. Minihan, PhD, MPH, Dept. of Family Medicine & Community Health, Tufts University School of Medicine, 136 Harrison Avenue, Boston, MA 02111, (617) 636-2461, paula.minihan@tufts.edu

A tobacco control strategy with the potential to protect citizens from involuntary exposure to environmental tobacco smoke, yet underutilized by state government, is the enactment of smoking policies in state human service agencies. This study examined the smoking policies in 49 state agencies for people with mental retardation (MR) - these agencies support close to 500,000 clients and employ approximately 375,000 direct support staff, directly or through contract, nationwide. The majority of agencies (32) had smoking policies; 17 did not. Among agencies with policies, every policy applied to state-operated programs, but there was variation in their restrictiveness and in the percentage of clients and employees that the policy covered. Nationwide, only one state agency had a smoking policy that offered every client and employee associated with the agency full protection from ETS. This policy prohibited smoking in state and vendor-operated programs, including residences. Policies in the remaining 48 agencies fell short of this level of protection in several ways: the policy banned smoking but allowed widespread exemptions for residences; the policy restricted smoking to designated smoking areas that were not enclosed and separately ventilated; or the agency had no smoking policies. Currently 84% of state MR service recipients live in vendor-operated programs, yet only six agencies extended their policies to private vendors. The largest influence on whether state agencies had policies was a state statute or executive order banning or restricting smoking in state government buildings. Other smoking policies and practices in states were not found to influence agency smoking policies.

Learning Objectives:

At the conclusion of the session, the participant will be able to:
• Recognize an additional tobacco control strategy that state governments can use to provide citizens with protection from involuntary exposure to environmental tobacco smoke.
• List three barriers to the enactment of smoking policies in state human service agencies by state governments and how they may be overcome.
• Describe the relationship that exists between state clean indoor air statutes and executive orders restricting smoking in state government buildings and smoking policies in state human service agencies.

Keywords: Tobacco Policy, Special Populations

Presenting author's disclosure statement:
I do not have any significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.