Construction workers top list of smokers
Construction workers, miners and food service workers top the list of occupations that smoke the most, according to a government report. Credit: Getty Images, 2011
ATLANTA -- Construction workers, miners and food service workers top the list of occupations that smoke the most, according to a government report.
"There may be other characteristics that are clustering in these industries," said Dr. Tim McAfee, director of the Office on Smoking and Health at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Traits linked to higher smoking rates and seen in employees in these industries include being younger, having fewer years of education and earning less money. Also, those who work outdoors are less likely to face indoor smoking bans seen in white-collar workplaces, McAfee said.
The CDC study found 19.6 percent of working adults smoke, but as many as 30 percent in the mining, construction and food service industries smoke. Librarians and teachers smoked the least, at less than 9 percent.
