Poll: Most in world favor work smoking ban

RESEARCH TRIANGLE PARK, N.C., Nov. 16 (UPI) -- A majority of smokers worldwide support smoking bans in the workplace, a survey conducted by U.S. researchers indicates.

The survey by RTI International and Harris Interactive surveyed more than 3,500 employees who smoke and more than 1,400 employers, both smokers and non-smokers, in 14 counties about their attitudes toward workplace smoking and cessation.

The study, published in the International Journal of Public Health online edition, shows 74 percent of smoking employees and 87 percent of employers felt the workplace should be smoke-free.

"Although there was widespread variation among countries, overall the results demonstrate global support for workplace smoking bans," lead author Michael Halpern, a senior fellow at RTI, says in a statement.

Those in India favor the workplace smoking ban the most at 85 percent. Support for a ban was 75 percent in Japan, while 33 percent favor the ban in Germany and 37 percent in Poland.

The survey, sponsored by Pfizer, found employees estimate they spend an average of one hour per day smoking at work, but almost 70 percent say they did not believe that it had a negative financial impact on their employer. However, about half of the employers interviewed say they believe that smoking had a negative financial impact on their organization.

No further survey details were provided.