​With greater workplace restrictions on tobacco use and hiring of smokers, being a smoker may make it more difficult for someone to get, or keep a job, according to new research in Preventive Medicine.

Why? Using California Health Interview Survey data, researchers found that nearly 21 percent of the job-seeking unemployed were smokers compared with about 15 percent of the employed and nearly 16 percent of the unemployed who were not seeking a job.   While there could be other potential explanations for the findings, researchers concluded employment service agencies could be an ideal place to treat clients with tobacco dependence.   This would not only help the unemployed save the money they would spend on cigarettes but also prevent them from smelling of smoke during the job search and interview process.

Publication Authors:

• Judith J. Prochaska
• Yanling Shi
• Amy Rogers