Journal Of Occupational and Environmental Medicine
Volume 46, Issue 6 Jun 2004. Pages:538-48
Copyright © 2004 American College of Occupational and Environmental Medicine.

Trends in US Smoking Rates in Occupational Groups:
The National Health Interview Survey 1987-1994

David J. Lee, PhD1, William LeBlanc, PhD1, Lora E Fleming, MD1,
Orlando Gómez-Marín, PhD1,2, Terry Pitman, BA1
1Department of Epidemiology and Public Health, University of Miami School of Medicine, Miami, Florida
2Department of Pediatrics, University of Miami School of Medicine, Miami, Florida

This work was supported by National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) grant #R01OH03915.

Email: Terry Pitman

*Correspondence to David Lee, Department of Epidemiology and Public Health, University of Miami School of Medicine, 1801 NW 9th Avenue, Suite 200, Highland Professional Building, Miami, Florida, 33136.

Abstract
Problem: It is unknown if reductions in US adult smoking rates are uniform across occupational groups.

Method: The National Health Interview Survey (NHIS) is a multistage area probability cross-sectional survey of the US civilian population. Occupational and smoking status was collected on 141,122 adult participants from the 1987, 1988 and 1990-1994 NHIS annual surveys.

Results: Average smoking rates ranged from 58% in roofers to 4% in physicians, with higher rates found among blue-collar professions. There were reductions in smoking from 1987-1994 within 72% of occupational groups; 19 of these trends were significant and occurred exclusively within white-collar professions.

Conclusions: Blue-collar workers continue to smoke in large numbers, while white-collar workers report lower rates along with corresponding significant reductions in rates among selected occupational groups. The development of effective smoking prevention strategies targeting blue-collar groups is needed.