Smoke-Free Workplace Policy: Unintended Consequences at Northern Plains Reservations
Abstract
As the rest of the nation continues to move toward a smoke-free society, American Indian communities lag far behind and benefit little from smoking cessation and control activities. This manuscript reports on a study that identified workplace smoking bans enacted on reservations in the Northern Plains states and discusses resistance to smoke-free policies. The study assessed the smoking ban via focus groups with adult tribal members to gather information on their perception and agreement to the smoking bans. To implement a workplace smoking cessation policy, it is necessary to coordinate culturally sensitive dialogue to encourage and accept feedback from tribal leadership, employees, and community members, and to implement those recommendations that are feasible in regard to announcing and implementing the recommended policy.