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Alcohol and Tobacco Consumption among Police Officers
Abstract
Police occupy an important position within the community as both enforcers of the law and as role models for appropriate behavior. Despite this interesting juxtaposition, research has shown that they may consume alcohol and tobacco at rates higher than the general population. A significant causal factor is occupational stress, and the fact that police are regularly exposed to stressors beyond the range of normal human experiences. Given this ongoing and unavoidable relationship, the recognition and control of stress is paramount within law enforcement. Because police stressors are usually multi-faceted, health promotion interventions should focus on stress-reduction at both the institutional and individual level. Examples of health promotion strategies may include reducing overtime, carefully organizing shift rosters, streamlining administrative processes and allowing rest breaks for those on the night-shift. Interventions which focus on the individual are also important, because excess alcohol and tobacco consumption levels often relate to individual stress-coping mechanisms. Programs to help recognize and prevent excess alcohol and tobacco consumption may be worthwhile, as too, counseling, interpersonal support and critical incident debriefing. Promoting non-drinking and non-smoking stress-reduction activities where police can socialize and de-brief with their colleagues may be beneficial. Encouraging social events at sports clubs and gymnasiums has also been suggested. In order to achieve these goals however, governments will need to place a greater emphasis on the occupational health of police officers and the law enforcement agencies in which they work.
... Among the business sector for example, Bloom and others [28] reported that the agricultural sector in South Asia region was affected the most by NCDs. Several studies have reported on NCDs among the military and the police forces [17,[29][30][31][32][33][34][35][36][37][38][39][40][41][42][43][44]. Occupations such as the military are associated with a greater risk of NCDs. ...
... The higher rates of metabolic syndrome and individual cardiometabolic abnormalities reported among the police in India are similar to those reported in other studies around the world [40,[42][43][44]. Data from cohort studies among the police force in the United States of America indicate that police officers' risk for developing NCDs and cardiovascular disease occur at an earlier age, and they also tend to die much earlier than other groups [50]. ...
Non-communicable diseases (NCDs) continue to pose a threat to public health. Although their impact on the workforce is widely recognized, there needs to be more understanding of how NCDs affect peace and security, particularly in low-middle-income countries. To address this, we conducted a scoping review and presented a narrative to explore how NCDs in the workforce threaten peace and security. Out of 570 papers screened, 34 articles, comprising 26 peer review and 8 grey literature, met the study criteria. Our findings reveal that while no study has drawn a direct relationship between NCDs in the workforce in LMICs and peace and security, several studies have demonstrated a relationship between NCDs and economic growth on one hand and economic growth and peace and security on the other. Therefore, using economic growth as a proximal factor, our findings show three pathways that link NCDs in the workforce to peace and security: (i) NCDs lead to low productivity and poor economic growth, which can threaten public peace and security; (ii) NCDs in the workforce can result in long-term care needs, which then puts pressure on public resources and have implications for public expenditure on peace and security; and (iii) household expenditures on caring for a family member with an NCD can destabilize families and create an unfavourable condition that threatens peace and security. This research highlights the dual threat of NCDs to health and security, as they impact human resources and community structures crucial for peace and security. The results underscore the importance of considering the workplace as a strategic setting for NCD prevention, which will have long-term implications for economic growth and peace and security.
... Investigating the motivation for smoking is particularly important in high-risk populations. Police officers are considered a high-risk group, with a higher prevalence of alcohol consumption, smoking and other harmful health behaviors compared to the general population (Basaza et al., 2020;Ramakrishnan et al., 2013;Richmond et al., 1998;Smith et al., 2005). Researchers have examined the prevalence of smoking among Hungarian police officers a few times. ...
... Significant causal factors of smoking consists of occupational 'job context' stress, and the fact that police are regularly exposed to "job content" stressors beyond the range of normal human experiences (Shane, 2010). Police stressors are usually multi-faceted and most of these stressors play an important role in smoking, such as shift-work (Brown et al., 2020), an unpredictable work schedule, or high level of stress (Smith et al., 2005). ...
Introduction: Police officers’ job is one of the most stressful professions. Job stress, unpredictability, and physical strain can increase the prevalence of smoking among police officers. Investigating the motivations behind smoking stands, therefore, as a critical question, especially in high-risk populations, like police officers. Aims: The aim of the study was to investigate the smoking motivations of Hungarian police students. Methods: Employing a cross-sectional approach, we conducted a questionnaire-based survey among Hungarian police students between January and April, 2022. The study sample (N = 270) consisted of 57.4% male (n = 155) and the average age of students was 21.8 years (SD = 2.13). The survey examined smoking status, frequency and intensity of smoking. Smoking intensity is generally based on self-reported average cigarettes per day. The Substance Use Coping Inventory (SUI) was used to examine motivational attitudes. Results: The lifetime prevalence of smoking among police students reached 77.0%. Female police students were more likely to have tried smoking than males, however, the difference was not significant (p = .114). Among current smokers, male police students demonstrated higher scores than female police students in both the self-confidence motives (p = .009) and boredom relief motives (p = .010). When comparing regular and occasional smokers, we found significant differences in all motivational scales, except for social motivators. However, logistic regression results indicate that boredom relief motives are the only significant predictors of regular smoking among police students (OR = 1.45; p < .001). Conclusions: The motivational patterns of smoking vary between males and females, as well as between regular and occasional smoker police students. A pivotal inquiry in the context of preventing regular smoking among police students revolves around identifying alternative solutions to effectively occupy their leisure time and alleviate boredom.
... At the same time, specific differences between age groups emphasizes the need for targeted care provisions. It was reported that police officers engage in more unhealthy behaviors such as alcohol drinking and smoking compared with the general population (Smith et al., 2005). There are also studies showing that police officers are exposed to dangerous environments owing to various work requirements, such as high-intensity physical activity and shift work, compared with other occupational groups (Wirth et al., 2013;Zimmerman et al., 2023). ...
Objective
Although some previous studies have investigated health in police officers, investigations of related factors have been limited to work-related associations or those affecting certain police officers. To address this gap, this study investigated relationships between sociodemographic factors, work-related factors, health behaviors, health conditions, and self-rated bad health (SRBH) in Korean police officers.
Methods
In 2021, we conducted a cross-sectional survey in cooperation with the Korean National Police Agency (KNPA). The respondents were 6,591 police officers aged 21–60 years, all of whom agreed to complete the survey online using the police agency’s intranet. After collecting data, we conducted a multiple logistic regression analysis to examine factors that were associated with SRBH, with calculations for adjusted odds ratios (ORs) and 95 % confidence intervals (CIs). The study model included a range of individual socioeconomic characteristics, work-related variables, health behaviors, and health conditions.
Results
Although the associated factors varied according to age group, several factors generally related to SRBH, including the lack of exercise, stress, having one or more chronic diseases, and work-related pain. By contrast, neither sex nor sleep duration were associated with SRBH of respondents. Monthly night work, smoking, and alcohol consumption were only associated with SRBH of certain age groups.
Conclusions
Several variables clearly related to SRBH of police officers. In this context, health-related associations, especially stress and chronic diseases, tended to differ according to age, including those that should be considered to improve health. These findings have important implications for relevant healthcare programs and interventions.
... In a similar vein, to cope up with such resource constraints, wiremen of MPEDU engage in the coping strategy of 'self-financing safety' by spending money from their own pockets. To cope with dangers in their work environment, police officers were found to be consuming alcohol and tobacco at rates higher than the general population (Smith et al, 2005). In a similar observation, many senior wiremen in the study, suffering from high blood pressure and other health problems due to working under severe stress for many years, are also addicted to tobacco and alcohol due to work stresses. ...
India requires reliable, adequate, and quality supply of electricity for ensuring fast-paced economic growth and reducing economic inequality and social disparity . Though India has achieved success in providing electricity connections to most households , Indian public distribution utilities (PDUs) have not been able to provide electricity services with expected quality, quantity, or reliability. Though PDUs suffer from low public trust and weak institutional structures, a large part of the blame for this failure is passed especially to frontline workers of PDU’s, who are seen as lacking discipline, capacities, accountability, moral, and motivation .
This chapter presents the study of performance of these frontline workers, called Wiremen, from the lens of Street-Level Bureaucracy Theory proposed by Lipsky (1980). The lens allows a comprehensive look at the precarious work conditions of Wiremen including diverse types of dangers—electric shocks, physical injuries, snake-bites, violence by consumers, and Covid infection. Based on the fieldwork conducted for a qualitative research project in the Indian state of Maharashtra, the chapter traces roots of these dangers to the weak institutional environment marked especially by the unscheduled, non-technical tasks and the lack of adequate human resource, training, tools, and materials. It further discusses the coping strategies adopted by Wiremen and the impact of these strategies on consumers, Wiremen, and performance of the PDU. The main coping strategies include: mutual support to protect fellow-Wiremen, devising innovative measures, making expenditure from own pockets, and exercising extreme caution and calm in dealing with irate consumers.
... Brunault et al. found a significant association between tobacco use and PTSD among Police Officers [50]. Similar to alcohol use, tobacco use is also regarded as a method of coping with work stress [38] and debriefing following critical incidents among Police Officers [51]. Police Officers with AUD had significantly higher rates of TUD, this is consistent with findings from other studies and is explained by genetic response and neuroadaptation involved in regulating brain chemical systems such as tolerance and sensitization to both drugs [52,53]. ...
Background:
Substance Use Disorders (SUDs) among Police Officers has been a concern to many professionals in the field of health, research and criminal justice since their work is subjected to higher levels of stress and hence more likely to use alcohol or tobacco as a coping mechanism. However, little is known about SUDs among Police Officers in Tanzania. Therefore, we assessed the prevalence and factors associated with SUDs among Police Officers in urban Tanzania.
Materials and methods:
A cross-sectional study was conducted between April and October 2019 among Police Officers in Dar es Salaam. Multistage cluster sampling technique was used to recruit study participants. The WHO-Alcohol, Smoking and Substance Involvement Screening Test (ASSIST) version 3.0 was used to measure potential SUDs. Bivariate and multivariate analyses were performed to establish associations between potential SUDs and predictors of interest, and an alpha of 5% was used in sample size calculation.
Results:
A total of 497 participants were enrolled, of these, 76.6% (376/491) were males, the median age (years) and IQR was 37.0 (30.0, 47.0). The prevalence of past three months use of alcohol and tobacco were 31.3% and 6.3%, respectively. About 13.3% (62/468) and 6.2% (29/468) of Police Officers met criteria for potential Alcohol Use Disorder (AUD) and potential Tobacco Use Disorder (TUD) respectively. In adjusted analysis, participants with depression had about two times increased odds for potential AUD (aOR: 2.27, 95% CI; 1.12 - 4.58, p = 0.023) than those with no depression. Potential AUD and depression were associated with about eight times (aOR: 8.03, 95% CI; 3.52 - 18.28, p < 0.01) and more than twice (aOR: 2.63, 95% CI; 1.12 - 6.15, p = 0.026) higher odds for potential TUD respectively.
Conclusion:
Substance use and potential substance use disorders particularly AUD and TUD are common among Police Officers in urban Tanzania. Depression was found to be an important factor for potential AUD and TUD among Police Officers and, a significant co-occurrence of potential AUD with potential TUD was observed. Findings from this study call for interventions, for example, the need to routinize the brief motivational interview services for alcohol and tobacco use among Police Officers.
... are considered over weight. It is generally defined as having more body fat than is optimally healthy, being overweight is a common condition; especially where food supplies are plentiful and lifestyles are sedentary (Derek, 2005) and it increases your chances of developing disease (WHO, 2006, Bridget andFuster 2010). ...
... Feltételezhető, hogy nem pusztán az életkornak, de az emberek által választott hivatásnak is fontos szerepe lehet a dohányzásban. Korábbi vizsgálatok legalábbis azt jelzik, hogy a rendőrség munkatársai között például magasabb a dohányzás előfordulása a civilekhez képest (Smith et al. 2005). A rendőrök körében akár 4,8-szor magasabb lehet a dohányzók aránya (25,5% vs. 5,3%) az átlag populációhoz képest (Basaza et al. 2020). ...
Összefoglalás. Egyes korcsoportokban (pl. fiatal felnőttek) és szakmákban (pl. rendőrök) az átlagosnál magasabb a dohányzók aránya. A tanulmány célja a rendészeti felsőoktatási hallgatók dohányzási szokásainak és nikotinfüggőségük súlyosságának vizsgálata. Keresztmetszeti, kérdőíves vizsgálatot végeztünk az NKE RTK rendészeti hallgatói körében (n = 180) . A nikotinfüggőség súlyosságát a Fagerström Nikotinfüggőségi Teszttel (FTND) és a Dohányzás Súlyossága Indexszel (DSI) vizsgáltuk. A válaszadók körében 81,1% a dohányzás életprevalenciája, 24,4% jelenleg dohányzó, 14,4% naponta dohányzik. Az FTND alapján a naponta dohányzók 96,1% enyhe/nagyon enyhe nikotinfüggő, míg a DSI alapján 73,1%-nak alacsony a nikotinfüggősége. A rendészeti felsőoktatás hallgatóinak dohányzása nem elhanyagolható probléma, ráadásul jelentős közegészségügyi és biztonsági aspektusai is vannak.
Summary. In some age groups (e.g. students) and professions (e.g. police officers), the proportion of smokers is higher than in the general population. The aim of this study is to assess the smoking habits and heaviness of nicotine dependence of Hungarian law enforcement students. A cross-sectional, web-based survey was conducted among law enforcement students at the Faculty of Law Enforcement of the University of Public Service (n = 180). The heaviness of nicotine dependence was measured by the Fagerstrom Test for Nicotine Dependence (FTND) and the Heaviness of Smoking Index (HSI). Respondents reported 81.1% lifetime prevalence of smoking, 24.4% were current smokers, and 14.4% were daily smokers. Based on the FTND, 96.1% of daily smokers had low/very low nicotine dependence, while based on the HSI, 73.1% of daily smokers had low nicotine dependence. Smoking among law enforcement students is not a negligible problem, and it also has significant public health and security aspects.
... This finding is supported by various studies where dependence on smoking, alcohol and substance use has been mentioned among the police due to their lifestyles and working environment. [38][39][40] Previous studies had shown that lack of resources, poor infrastructure and a high number of vehicles contributed to poor mental health in traffic police officers. In addition, this study has highlighted the role of personal habits like smoking and alcohol use that can increase the risk of suffering from mental illnesses. ...
Objective
This study aimed to assess the prevalence of depression, anxiety and stress, associated factors and stress-coping strategies among traffic police officers in Kathmandu, Nepal.
Design
Cross-sectional survey.
Setting
Kathmandu Valley, Nepal.
Participants
A total of 300 traffic police officers working under the different traffic units of Kathmandu Valley for at least 6 months were recruited via a simple random sampling procedure.
Primary outcome measures
State of depression, anxiety and stress among traffic police officers based on the Depression, Anxiety and Stress Scale.
Secondary outcome measures
Coping strategies under stressful conditions based on the Coping Orientation to Problems Experienced Inventory (Brief-COPE) tool.
Results
Altogether 124 (41.3%) traffic police officers had symptoms of depression, 141 (47%) had anxiety symptoms and 132 (44%) had symptoms of stress. Smoking was significantly associated with an increased likelihood of experiencing symptoms of depression (adjusted OR (AOR): 10.7, 95% CI: 4.8 to 23.6), anxiety (AOR: 7.1, 95% CI: 3.4 to 14.9) and stress (AOR: 6.8, 95% CI: 3.3 to 14.1). Similarly, longer working hours was significantly associated with higher odds of experiencing symptoms of depression (AOR: 3.4, 95% CI: 1.8 to 6.4), anxiety (AOR: 2.3, 95% CI: 1.3 to 3.9) and stress (AOR: 1.9, 95% CI: 1.1 to 3.4), and lack of physical exercise was associated with an increased likelihood of exhibiting depressive symptoms (AOR: 2.3, 95% CI: 1.1 to 4.7). Participants in this study used positive coping strategies more than negative coping strategies.
Conclusion
Our study found a high prevalence of depression, anxiety and stress symptoms among traffic police officers in Kathmandu Valley, Nepal. Smoking and longer working hours were associated with an increased likelihood of experiencing symptoms of depression, anxiety and stress, and lack of physical exercise was associated with an increased likelihood of depressive symptoms.
... They are suffering from different types of physical and mental disorders. Police officers often attribute their above average cardiovascular disease risk due to improper scheduling of shift, jobrelated stress, and poor dietary habits while working.They have been found to have an increased prevalence of CVD risk factors and type 2 diabetes than any other occupational group and amongst the general population in many countries [7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14]. ...
Police personnel had to perform overtime and shift work, suffer from disrupted sleep patterns, stress and may have high rates of tobacco and alcohol consumption than the general population forced to live physically inactive lifestyle, have irregular diet while on duty raising serious risk to their health. A study was conducted in Gaziabad District of Uttar Pradesh among to assess the lifestyle pattern with respect to dietary habit, physical activity and their knowledge, attitude and practices regarding non communicable diseases amongst the randomly selected 100 police personnel of Uttar Pradesh Provincial Armed Constabulary. Study found prevalence of high rates of hypertension (34.7 %) and Diabetes (15.8%) were found among them. It was found that the daily vegetable, fruits intake in the personnel was less than five servings was seen among 74.3%. According to the analysis 71.9% of the police personnel were not doing the recommended 150 minutes of physical exercise in a week. According to the analysis 68.5% were either over weight/obese. The unfavorable trends for most major risk factors pose an enormous challenge and call for additional and timely action and policies, especially those of a legislative and regulatory nature and those providing cost-effective chronic care for individuals affected by NCDs. Recommendations: Orientation during induction training of police personnel regarding reduction in alcohol use, increase in fruit servings along with other lifestyle modification measures may help in prevention and control of hypertension and other NCDS. Policemen also require periodic counseling and medical examination to remain healthy. Government to budget for private gymnasium memberships for officers and constables or build fitness stations within an area of the police department. The Police Departments may evolve wellness programme offer incentives, such as additional vacation days, for officers who pass a rigorous wellness test and may also to link fitness for next promotion. There is a need for nationwide multi-centric studies to be conducted on the prevalence of diabetes and its complications amongst the police personnel.
Bevezetés: Világszerte nagy figyelmet fordítanak a dohányzásra mint legfőbb megelőzhető halálokra, ugyanakkor szakmacsoportok szerinti prevalenciájáról keveset tudunk. Célkitűzés: A rendvédelem területén a dohányzás előfordulási gyakoriságának felmérése, valamint a dohányzási status és a szubjektív egészségi állapot összevetése. Módszer: Szabolcs-Szatmár-Bereg Vármegyei Rendőr-főkapitányság hivatásos állományú tagjai között kvantitatív, papíralapú felmérés. Keresztmetszeti vizsgálat (N = 1704; átlagéletkor: 39,2 év; SD: 8,12; nő: 13,7%; férfi: 86,2%). Eredmények: A vármegyében a rendőrök 32,3%-a dohányzik, a férfiak 32,8%-a, míg a nők 29,1%-a. 24,3% már leszokott a dohányzásról, és 43,4% sohasem dohányzott. A munkarend tekintetében a dohányzás prevalenciája a váltásos 1. (12/24) munkarendben dolgozók esetében a legmagasabb: 36,3%. A dohányzók között a hivatali (napi 8 óra) munkarendben dolgozók aránya a legkisebb: 23,8%. A szubjektív egészségi állapot és a dohányzási status közötti összefüggés nem szignifikáns, de tendeciózusnak mondható (Kruskal–Wallis: p = 0,054). A dohányzóknál amellett, hogy jónak minősítik egészségi állapotukat, az átlagérték alacsonyabb (M: 3,96; SD: 0,61). Akik soha nem dohányoztak (M: 4,03; SD: 0,60), vagy akik már leszoktak a dohányzásról (M: 4,04; SD: 0,61), szintén jónak érzik egészségi állapotukat. Következtetés: A rendvédelemben dolgozók dohányzási prevalenciája magasabb a magyar népességi adatok viszonylatában és a nemzetközi rendvédelmi területen történő összehasonlításban. Az egészségfejlesztési programoknak továbbra is kiemelten kell kezelniük a dohányzás leszoktatását segítő intervenciókat. Orv Hetil. 2024; 165(15): 584–594.
Little research has been done that examines the impact of routinely dealing with alcohol-related incidents on police drinking patterns. This study examined the drinking patterns of a sample of employees from an Australian State police service (n = 4193) through the use of a survey (which included the Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT)). The survey requested officers to estimate the proportion and types of incidents to which they were called that involved alcohol. Analysis revealed that the median estimate, for all officers, of the proportion of incidents involving alcohol in their division was 50-74%. A significant relationship between dealing with alcohol-related incidents and officers' drinking patterns as measured by the AUDIT was also revealed. Assault was the only type of incident to independently predict drinking behaviour. A positive correlation was seen between the proportion of assaults involving alcohol and AUDIT scores.
The purpose of the present study was to identify common stressors and the magnitude of stress reactivity in police officers during the course of general duty police work. Using heart rate as a primary indicator of autonomic nervous system activation, coupled with observed physical activity data collected through 76 full shift ride-alongs, this study differentiates between physical and psycho-social stress. The results, confirming previous research based on self-report data alone, demonstrate that police officers experience both physical and psycho-social stress on the job, anticipating stress as they go about their work, while suffering anticipatory stress at the start of each shift. The results demonstrated that the highest levels of stress occur just prior to and during critical incidents, and that officers do not fully recover from that stress before leaving their shift. Overall, the results illustrate the need to consider stress reactivity and repressors in the assessment of police officer stress while clearly demonstrating the need for debriefing after critical incidents and increased training in stress management and coping strategies.
To examine the prevalence of five life-style behaviours among New South Wales police.
A cross-sectional survey using a self-administered questionnaire.
A total of 852 police were recruited from metropolitan Sydney.
Prevalence related to age and sex of self-reported alcohol consumption, cigarette smoking, inadequate exercise, perception of overweight and stress symptoms.
A high level (89%) of participation was achieved in the survey. Almost half (48%) of males and more than two-fifths (40%) of females consumed alcohol excessively including continuous hazardous or harmful consumption and binge drinking. Excessive drinking was more prevalent among younger police. There were 8% of male and 15% of female police who reported that they did not drink alcohol. Over one-quarter (27%) of male and one-third (32%) of female respondents reported smoking. Almost half (46%) of men and women (47%) believed that they were overweight. More than one-fifth (21%) of men and less than one-quarter (24%) of women reported that they did not exercise. Finally, 12% of men and 15% of women reported feeling moderate to severe symptoms of stress.
The police work-force offers an opportunity to screen for a large number of healthy, young and high risk individuals (particularly men) who are hard to reach in other settings and who rarely visit their general practitioner. A sizeable majority (83%) of NSW police had at least one unhealthy life-style behaviour with 19% reporting 3-5 unhealthy factors. The high prevalence of excessive alcohol consumption among police is of particular concern. More active health promotion and provision of brief interventions among police may reduce morbidity and mortality associated with unhealthy life-styles.
Data are sparse regarding the impact of psychosocial work stress on the health and well-being of aging workers, even for employees working in high-stress occupations, such as law enforcement. To improve our understanding of this issue in older workers, we assessed and characterized work stress, coping strategies, and stress-related health outcomes in a sample of police officers aged 50 years and older (n = 105). The most important risk factors associated with officers' perceived work stress were maladaptive coping behaviors (e.g., excessive drinking or problem gambling) (odds ratio [OR], 4.95; 95% confidence interval [CI], 2.11 to 11.6) and exposure to critical incidents (e.g., shootings) (OR, 3.84; 95% CI, 1.71 to 8.65). In turn, perceived work stress was significantly associated with anxiety (OR, 6.84; 95% CI, 2.81 to 16.65), depression (OR, 9.27; 95% CI, 3.81 to 22.54), somatization (OR, 5.74; 95% CI, 2.47 to 13.33), posttraumatic stress symptoms (OR, 2.89; 95% CI, 1.29 to 6.47), symptoms of "burnout" (OR, 5.93; 95% CI, 2.54 to 13.86), chronic back pain (OR, = 3.55; 95% CI, 1.57 to 8.06), alcohol abuse (OR, 3.24; 95% CI, 1.45 to 7.22), and inappropriately aggressive behavior (OR, 4.00; 95% CI, 1.34 to 11.88). These data suggest that older workers in high-stress jobs may be at increased risk for work stress-related health problems, especially if they rely on risky health behaviors to cope with stress. Given the size of the rapidly aging US workforce and the likelihood that many are employed in high-stress jobs, interventions are urgently needed to address this emerging public health issue.
Health risk factor clinics were established at police stations in Canberra to gain an insight into the cardiac risk of a community police service and to find a focus for future health promotion activities. Self-administered questionnaires were used to determine past and present blood pressure status, family history and smoking habits. Height, weight, blood pressure and cholesterol measurements were conducted on completion of the questionnaire. Comparisons were made with the National Heart Foundation's 1989 survey figures. Seventy four per cent of male and 24% of female police officers were found to have a high body mass index, 15% of males had high blood pressure and 27% of the group smoked cigarettes. However, the presence of multiple risk factors was not a feature of this group. Police under 35 years of age were identified as a target group for health promotion and the importance of utilising senior officers to bring about change is discussed.
The distribution of cigarette smoking (as well as of cigar and pipe smoking in men) by occupation was examined in over 800,000 men and women age 45–70 who were enrolled in the American Cancer Society's prospective study in 1982. Striking variations were seen for men—less striking variations for women. Smoking rates were significantly higher in groups exposed to a number of occupational hazards, compared to groups not so exposed. A considerable amount of variation is related to social class, but some individual occupations exhibit notably high (law enforcement) or low (clergy) smoking rates.
This information can be quite useful in planning morbidity or mortality studies of specific occupational groups or in analyzing data from existing studies.
Alcohol use is an important problem among personnel in the high-stress police occupation. The impact of occupational demands, psychological distress, and coping on police alcohol consumption are explored. Results indicate that psychological distress, as an intervening factor between work demands and alcohol use itself, has an important positive effect on alcohol use.
This study aims to describe the prevalence of smoking, snuff use, and exposure to environmental tobacco smoke (ETS) in relation to occupation among common female and male workers in Sweden. The associations between shift work, job strain, and tobacco use and exposure to ETS are assessed. The results are based on questionnaire data of 2,584 men and 2,836 women randomly selected from 63 occupations in two counties in Sweden. The prevalence of smoking ranges from 10% (95% CI 4.5-16%, police officers) to 42% (95% CI 29-55%, packing workers) in men, and between 8% (95% CI 2-14%, dentists) and 51% (95% CI 37-65%, packing workers) in women. Snuff use is more common among men (range 11-44% in different occupations) than among women (range 0-7%). The prevalence of exposure to passive smoking in this study ranges from 0.9% to 26% in men and from 0% to 30% in women. Shiftwork is significantly associated with current smoking, and job strain is significantly related to exposure to ETS. Ages between 18 and 29 years experienced an increased risk of exposure to ETS compared to older age groups. In conclusion, this study shows that tobacco use and exposure to ETS is still a major problem in the Swedish workplace.
To evaluate the effects of a brief intervention to reduce excessive drinking, smoking and stress among police.
(1) Controlled intervention trial with pre and post-intervention assessment approximately 8 months apart; (2) focus group identification of relevant factors). SETTING, PARTICIPANTS: Assessment was carried out of 954 NSW (Australia) police at 19 stations within two matched districts in the Sydney metropolitan area. Five focus groups were carried out with 43 randomly selected police from the matched districts.
Weekly alcohol consumption and binge drinking, smoking and symptoms of stress were measured by a self-administered Health and Fitness Questionnaire. Recorded responses to set questions provided qualitative data.
Participation was high (89%) at both quantitative assessments. Alcohol consumptions, particularly among men, was high at both baseline and follow-up assessments, although comparisons between groups across occasions showed no significant intervention effects. Excessive drinkers and those reporting moderate to severe stress levels reported more sick leave days (p < 0.05, p < 0.05). A significant increase in awareness of alcohol policies in the work-place showed in both experimental and control groups over time (p < 0.01). The percentage of smokers declined significantly in both intervention and control groups. Overall, women had significantly more symptoms of stress than men. Only 20% of police thought they would seek advice from work-place staff about alcohol consumption, 14% for smoking and 61% for stress. In the qualitative study, employees generally distrusted their organization's involvement in health unless work performance was affected. Seeking professional assistance for life-style issues was viewed as a sign of weakness. Alcohol use was seen as a way of obtaining information or group membership, self-medication and socializing.
The brief interventions did not produce significant improvements in three life-style factors beyond positive trends in alcohol consumption among women and general reductions in smoking among both study groups. Combining quantitative and qualitative approaches helped identify interactive individual and organizational factors which influence behavioural and cultural norms.