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Abstract Background There is substantial empirical evidence on the benefits of smoking bans; however, the unintended consequences of this anti-smoking measure have received little attention. This paper examines whether workplace smoking bans (WSB's) are associated with higher self-perceived, work-related stress among smoking workers. Methods A longitudinal representative sample of 3,237 individuals from the Canadian National Population Health Survey from 2000 to 2008 is used. Work-related stress is derived from a 12-item job questionnaire. Two categories of WSB's, full and partial, are included in the analysis, with no ban being the reference category. Analysis also controls for individual socio-demographic characteristics, health status, provincial and occupational fixed-effects. We use fixed-effects linear regression to control for individual time-invariant confounders, both measured and unmeasured, which can affect the relationship between WSB's and work-related stress. To examine the heterogeneous effects of WSB's, the analysis is stratified by gender and age. We check the robustness of our results by re-estimating the baseline specification with the addition of different control variables and a separate analysis for non-smokers. Results Multivariate analysis reveals a positive and statistically significant association between full (β = 0.75, CI = 0.19-1.32) or partial (β = 0.69, CI = 0.12-1.26) WSB's, and the level of self-perceived, work-related stress among smoking workers compared to those with no WSB. We also find that this association varies by gender and age. In particular, WSB's are significantly associated with higher work stress only for males and young adults (aged 18-40). No statistically significant association is found between WSB's and the level of self-perceived work-related stress among non-smoking workers. Conclusion The results of this study do not imply that WSB's are the main determinant of self-perceived, work-related stress among smokers but provides suggestive evidence that these may be positively related.

Abstract Background The health benefits of adequate fruit and vegetable (F&V) consumption are significant and widely documented. However, many individuals self-report low F&V consumption frequency per day. This paper examines the disparities in the frequency of F&V consumption by socio-demographic and lifestyle characteristics. Method This study uses a representative sample of 93,719 individuals from the Canadian Community Health Survey (2007). A quantile regression model is estimated in order to capture the differential effects of F&V determinants across the conditional distribution of F&V consumption. Results The conditional and unconditional analyses reveal the existence of a socioeconomic gradient in F&V consumption frequency, in which the low income-education groups consume F&V less frequently than the high income-education groups. We also find significant disparities in F&V consumption frequency by demographic and lifestyle characteristics. The frequency of F&V consumption is relatively lower among: males, those in middle age, singles, smokers, individuals with weak social interaction and households with no children. The quantile regression results show that the association between F&V consumption frequency, and socio-demographic and lifestyle factors varies significantly along the conditional F&V consumption distribution. In particular, individual educational attainment is positively and significantly associated with F&V consumption frequency across different parts of the F&V distribution, while the income level matters only over the lower half of the distribution. F&V consumption follows a U-shaped pattern across the age categories. Those aged 30-39, 40-49 and 50-59 years consume F&V less frequently than those aged 18-29 years. The smallest F&V consumption is among the middle aged adults (40-49). Conclusions Understanding the socio-demographic and lifestyle characteristics of individuals with low F&V consumption frequency could increase the effectiveness of policies aimed at promoting F&V consumption. The differential effects of individual characteristics along the F&V consumption distribution suggest the need for a multifaceted approach to address the variation in F&V consumption frequency.

Abstract Background While there is considerable theoretical and empirical evidence on how job stress affects physical and mental health, few studies have examined the association between job related stress and health care utilization. Using data from the Canadian National Population Health Survey from 2000 to 2008, this paper examines the association between stressful working conditions, as measured by the job strain model, and the utilization of health care services. Methods A zero inflated negative binomial regression is used to examine the excess health care utilization due to job strain. Separate regressions are estimated for both males and females since studies have shown gender differences in health care utilization. Results Estimates for the whole population show that high or medium job strain has a positive and statistically significant association with the number of visits to both a general practitioner (GP) and a specialist (SP). On average, the number of GP visits is up to 26% more (IRR = 1.26, 95% CI = 1.19-1.31) for individuals with high strain jobs compared to those in the low job strain category. Similarly, SP visits are up to 27% more (IRR = 1.27, 95% CI = 1.14-142) for the high strain category. Results are quantitatively similar for males and females, save for medium strain. In general, findings are robust to the inclusion of workplace social support, health status, provincial and occupational-fixed effects. Conclusion Job strain may be positively associated with the utilization of health care services. This suggests that improving psychosocial working conditions and educating workers on stress-coping mechanisms could be beneficial for the physical and mental health of workers.