Our estimates provide critical information for policymakers to allocate resources and develop prevention and treatment approaches to address future needs of the US older adult population with substance use disorder.
Purpose:
To provide a nationally representative snapshot of workplace health promotion (WHP) and protection practices among United States worksites.
Design:
Cross-sectional, self-report Workplace Health in America (WHA) Survey between November 2016 and September 2017.
Setting:
National.
Participants:
Random sample of US worksites with ≥10 employees, stratified by region, size, and North American Industrial Classification System sector.
Measures:
Workplace health promotion programs, program administration, evidence-based strategies, health screenings, disease management, incentives, work-life policies, implementation barriers, and occupational safety and health (OSH).
Analysis:
Descriptive statistics, t tests, and logistic regression.
Results:
Among eligible worksites, 10.1% (n = 3109) responded, 2843 retained in final sample, and 46.1% offered some type of WHP program. The proportion of comparable worksites with comprehensive programs (as defined in Healthy People 2010) rose from 6.9% in 2004 to 17.1% in 2017 (P < .001). Occupational safety and health programs were more prevalent than WHP programs, and 83.5% of all worksites had an individual responsible for employee safety, while only 72.2% of those with a WHP program had an individual responsible for it. Smaller worksites were less likely than larger to offer most programs.
Conclusion:
The prevalence of WHP programs has increased but remains low across most health programs; few worksites have comprehensive programs. Smaller worksites have persistent deficits and require targeted approaches; integrated OSH and WHP efforts may help. Ongoing monitoring using the WHA Survey benchmarks OSH and WHP in US worksites, updates estimates from previous surveys, and identifies gaps in research and practice.
Background
On April 1, 2009, the federal government raised cigarette taxes from $0.39 to $1.01 per pack. This study examines the impact of this increase on a range of smoking behaviors among youth aged 12 to 17 and young adults aged 18 to 25.
Methods
Data from the 2002–2011 National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH) were used to estimate the impact of the tax increase on five smoking outcomes: (1) past year smoking initiation, (2) past-month smoking, (3) past year smoking cessation, (4) number of days cigarettes were smoked during the past month, and (5) average number of cigarettes smoked per day. Each model included individual and state-level covariates and other tobacco control policies that coincided with the tax increase. We examined the impact overall and by race and gender.
Results
The odds of smoking initiation decreased for youth after the tax increase (odds ratio (OR) = 0.83, p < 0.0001). The odds of past-month smoking also decreased (youth: OR = 0.83, p < 0.0001; young adults: OR = 0.92, p < 0.0001), but the odds of smoking cessation remained unchanged. Current smokers smoked on fewer days (youth: coefficient = −0.97, p = 0.0001; young adults: coefficient = −0.84, p < 0.0001) and smoked fewer cigarettes per day after the tax increase (youth: coefficient = −1.02, p = 0.0011; young adults: coefficient = −0.92, p < 0.0001).
Conclusions
The 2009 federal cigarette tax increase was associated with a substantial reduction in smoking among youths and young adults. The impact of the tax increase varied across male, female, white and black subpopulations.
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