More than one in five U.S. working adults uses tobacco

(HealthDay)—Overall, 22.1 percent of working U.S. adults currently use any form of tobacco, according to a study published online Oct. 26 in Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report.

Girija Syamlal, M.B.B.S., from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta, and colleagues analyzed data from the National Health Interview Survey for 2014 to 2016 to describe the most recent prevalence estimates of current tobacco product use among working adults in the United States.

The researchers found that 22.1 percent of working adults currently used any form of tobacco; 15.4, 5.8, 3, and 3.6 percent used cigarettes, other combustible tobacco, smokeless tobacco, and electronic cigarettes, respectively; 4.6 percent reported current use of two or more tobacco products. Any tobacco use varied by industry, from 11 percent among education service workers to 34.3 percent among construction workers; current use of two or more tobacco products was highest (7.1 percent) among construction workers. Any tobacco use varied by occupation, from 9.3 percent among life, physical, and social science workers to 37.2 percent among installation, maintenance, and repair workers; current use of two or more tobacco products was highest (10.1 percent) among installation, maintenance, and repair workers.

"Proven interventions to prevent and reduce tobacco product use, including current use of multiple products, among working adults are important," the authors write. "Workplace tobacco-control interventions have been especially effective in reducing cigarette smoking prevalence."