Smoke-free workplaces have proliferated in Hawaii but the state's advancing smokeless environment still has it ranked 18th out of the 50 states and the District of Columbia, according to a new report from the National Cancer Institute. Hawaii ranks 18th in U.S.
for smoke-free officesBy Russ Lynch
rlynch@starbulletin.comIn 1999, the latest year studied, 71.4 percent of Hawaii workers said they work in facilities that have a no-smoking policy.
That was a rise of about 25 percentage points from 46.5 percent when smoke-free work was last measured in 1993, the institute said.
Nationally, Utah topped the list, with 83.9 percent of its work force operating in no-smoking offices.
That was an improvement from 63.3 percent in 1993. Nevada had the lowest ranking, with only 48.7 percent of its workers doing their jobs where smoking is prohibited.
Workers in the Midwest and the South, the regions where most tobacco is grown, generally reported the fewest smoke-fee workplaces, while the Northeast and the West had the most.
The states with strong state or local anti-smoking policies generally had the highest level of smoke-free buildings.
Hawaii has rules against smoking in government buildings, but where private businesses are concerned, it is entirely up to the individual employer, said Debbie Odo, director of tobacco control at the American Lung Association of Hawaii.
She said her association's major push in the islands now is to get restaurants and bars to ban smoking, for the good of the people work there and are exposed to second-hand smoke.