Smoking policies in small worksites in Minnesota

PURPOSE: To examine correlates of smoking policies in a stratified sample of small worksites in Minnesota and to determine knowledge and attitudes of the owners and managers regarding the Minnesota Clean Indoor Air Act (MCIAA) rules that newly applied to their businesses. DESIGN: Cross-sectional survey. SETTING: Minnesota offices and factories/warehouses with 5 to 50 employees. Subjects. Owners or managers of offices and factories/warehouses; sample size = 233; response rate = 66%. MEASURES: Existence and strength of worksite smoking policies. ANALYSIS: Comparison of factories/warehouses and offices in metropolitan and greater Minnesota using chi square and linear and logistic regression analyses. RESULTS: Approximately two-thirds of the worksites claimed to have a smoking policy, but only 26% of the total sample had a policy in writing. Worksites that offered health insurance to their employees were more likely to have a written policy (p < .0001), as were offices in the metro area compared with other worksites (p = .003). Policies of both types of outstate worksites were stronger compared with those at metro sites, and offices had stronger policies than factories and warehouses in the metro area. Only about one-third of the businesses had heard of the MCIAA rule changes. CONCLUSION: Most small businesses in Minnesota do not have a smoking policy in writing and thus their employees are at risk of exposure to secondhand smoke at work.