Smoke-free Laws and Employee Turnover

Authors

Ellen J. Hahn, University of KentuckyFollow
Eric Thompson, University of Nebraska-LincolnFollow

Date of this Version

9-26-2006

Comments

Copyright 2006 Hahn & Thompson

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of smoke-free laws on employee turnover and training costs in one large national restaurant chain. The public health benefits of smoke-free laws are well-known. If all workplaces in the united states implemented smoke-free policies, about 178,000 smokers would stop smoking while those who continued would consume 10 billion fewer cigarettes per year.¹ As information about the health consequences of exposure to secondhand smoke has increased over the past 30 years,^2-5 many state and local governments have enacted laws to restrict smoking. Today, over 2,300 local communities and 17 states have enacted smoke-free laws. Enacting the first "clean indoor air" laws in 1973, Arizona led the way among states.²