SHORT REPORT
The association between occupational secondhand smoke exposure and life satisfaction among adults in the European Union
 
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1
Department of Primary Care and Public Health, School of Public Health, Imperial College London, London, United Kingdom
 
2
National Heart and Lung Institute, Imperial College London, London, United Kingdom
 
3
Clinic of Social and Family Medicine, School of Medicine, University of Crete, Heraklion, Greece
 
4
European Network for Smoking and Tobacco Prevention (ENSP), Brussels, Belgium
 
5
Center for Health Services Research, School of Medicine, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Athens, Greece
 
 
Submission date: 2016-09-29
 
 
Acceptance date: 2017-03-20
 
 
Publication date: 2017-03-23
 
 
Corresponding author
Filippos T. Filippidis   

Department of Primary Care and Public Health, School of Public Health, Imperial College London, 310 Reynolds Building, St. Dunstan’s Road, London W6 8RP, United Kingdom
 
 
Tob. Induc. Dis. 2017;15(March):19
 
KEYWORDS
ABSTRACT
Background:
Despite existing legislation, a large proportion of the European Union (EU) population is exposed to occupational secondhand smoke (SHS). The aim of this study was to explore associations between occupational exposure to SHS and self-reported life satisfaction.

Methods:
We analysed data collected through the Eurobarometer survey (wave 82.4) from n = 11,788 individuals working in indoor spaces. The sample was representative of the population of the 28 EU member states. We fitted a multilevel logistic regression model adjusting for smoking, age, gender, occupation, area of residence, education, difficulty paying bills, marital status and social class.

Results:
27.5% of those working indoors reported at least some occupational exposure to SHS. People exposed to occupational SHS were less likely to report that they were satisfied with the life they lead (adjusted Odds Ratio = 0.72, 95% Confidence Interval: 0.60-0.87). The effect of occupational exposure on life satisfaction did not differ by smoking status, with all interaction terms between smoking status and occupational exposure to SHS not statistically significant.

Conclusions:
Exposure to SHS at the workplace does not only have negative consequences on physical health, but it can also impact life satisfaction of smokers and non-smokers. Our findings highlight the need for stricter enforcement of smokefree environments at the workplace in the EU.

 
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