Professional paper
Effect of irritants in working atmosphere and smoking on absenteeism
Ariana Vorko
; Škola narodnog zdravlja »Andrija Štampar« Medicinskog fakulteta Sveučilišta u Zagrebu, Zagreb, Hrvatska
Abstract
A retrospective study on the effect of harmful environmental factors and smoking on workers' absences was conducted in a Zagreb chemical works. The study covered all workers employed in the factory in the course of 1972 that remained working in the factory until the beginning of the study in 1973. Out of 1004 workers surveyed, 3 were pipe smokers, 613 cigarette smokers, 144 former smokers, and 244 nonsmokers. The 1972 records were used to analyze absences, while smoking habits were investigated by means of a questionnaire. The results have shown that the number of absences and days lost in workers exposed to irritants was higher than in those who were not exposed to these harmful environmental factors (tables 2 & 3). Among the workers exposed to irritants, most absences were recorded in smokers and least in nonsmokers. Among the nonexposed workers the highest number of absences was recorded in smokers and the lowest in nonsmokers.
On the basis of these results it may be concluded that:
(1) Exposure to irritants in the working atmosphere increases the number of absences and days lost due to illness.
(2) Smoking increases a harmful effect of irritants, possibly because of a synergistic effect of either group of harmful agents, those in the working atmosphere and those in the cigarette smoke.
Keywords
Hrčak ID:
165116
URI
Publication date:
22.9.1977.
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