Predicting state police officer alcohol consumption and use of tobacco

Published date01 September 2018
Date01 September 2018
AuthorAllen Copenhaver,Richard Tewksbury
DOI10.1177/1461355718793667
Subject MatterArticles
PSM793667 207..216
Article
International Journal of
Police Science & Management
Predicting state police officer alcohol
2018, Vol. 20(3) 207–216
ª The Author(s) 2018
consumption and use of tobacco
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DOI: 10.1177/1461355718793667
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Allen Copenhaver
Lindsey Wilson College Columbia, USA and University of Louisville, USA
Richard Tewksbury
University of Louisville, USA
Abstract
Criminal justice research has well documented the fact that law enforcement officers experience a significant amount of
stress. Research also suggests law enforcement officers use tobacco (which is not healthy at any rate) and alcohol at rates
exceeding those of other populations. Although several studies have documented the above across a wide variety of law
enforcement populations, research has not previously explored the extent to which state police officers use tobacco and
alcohol. Because no studies explore state law enforcement officer use of tobacco and alcohol, no studies exist that identify
factors predictive of state police officer use of alcohol and tobacco. This study addresses these gaps in the literature by
surveying all sworn state police officers of one state police agency. Policy recommendations, as they pertain to reducing
state police officer use of alcohol and tobacco are discussed below.
Keywords
Law enforcement officer health and wellness, state police, tobacco, alcohol, criminal justice policy
Submitted 26 May 2018, accepted 13 Jul 2018
Introduction
and from a performance point of view. This is the crux of
research on law enforcement tobacco use and excessive
There is a general consensus among the scientific commu-
alcohol consumption; tobacco use and excessive alcohol
nity that tobacco use in all forms is harmful to human
consumption negatively impact police performance.
health (e.g., on cigarettes see: Cummings et al., 2007; for
Research exists on various adult and youth populations as
smokeless tobacco see: Bates et al., 2003). Despite such
to the causes of beginning tobacco use, effects of tobacco
warnings from various governmental bodies, researchers,
use, and treatments and policies identified as successful for
and non-profit organizations, people still choose to use
cessation and prevention, yet, research on these topics is still
tobacco in various forms including, but not limited to smo-
underdeveloped as it pertains specifically to certain samples
keless tobacco, chewing tobacco, cigarettes, and cigars.
of law enforcement officers. In fact, tobacco-related research
Research suggests law enforcement officers may use
rarely exists for special populations of law enforcement offi-
tobacco at disproportionately high rates (DR Smith et al.,
cers, such as state police officers. At the same time, the
2005). Also of concern in the area of law enforcement
research is full of studies on the extent of police officer use
health and wellness is law enforcement officer alcohol con-
of alcohol and the effects of such use. For example, Ballenger
sumption. A long history of officer alcohol consumption
research traces alcohol use from the stressors directly asso-
ciated with work in law enforcement (as well as ancillary
Corresponding author:
stressors, as discussed below). Researchers have also exam-
Allen Copenhaver, Department of Criminal Justice, Lindsey Wilson
ined the effects alcohol use and alcoholism have on law
College, 210 Lindsey Wilson St, Columbia, KY Kentucky 42728, USA.
enforcement officers from a health and wellness standpoint
Email: copenhaverr@lindsey.edu

208
International Journal of Police Science & Management 20(3)
et al. (2011) found 7.8% of a sample of urban police officers
to such a general consensus, human beings across the globe
showed symptoms of lifetime alcohol abuse. More specifi-
still choose to use tobacco products in the form of cigar-
cally, 11% of males and 16% of females reported at-risk
ettes, dipping tobacco (also known as smokeless tobacco),
alcohol use during the week prior to completing the survey
chewing tobacco and cigars, and other more specific types
and a third of officers reported binge-drinking within the last
of tobacco such as pipe tobacco and e-cigarettes. It is esti-
month. As revealed by studies of varying samples of police
mated that 5,800,000,000,000 (5.8 trillion) cigarettes were
officers, when officers drink it can result in myriad negative
smoked across the globe in 2014; the USA ranks third in the
consequences including suicide ideation (in conjunction with
world in cigarette consumption (The Tobacco Atlas, 2015).
post-traumatic stress disorder; Violanti, 2011)), drunk driv-
It is also estimated that 3200 people under the age of 18
ing (Stinson et al., 2014), and domestic violence (Ryan,
smoke their first cigarette each day (U.S. Department of
2000), among other problems. However, not much is known
Health and Human Services, 2014) and that cigarette smok-
about the extent to which officers use alcohol and the effects
ing in general is related to one’s sex (Nguyen et al., 2014).
of such use in samples of state police officers.
Cigarette smoking has declined in recent years in the USA1,
It is unfortunate that more is not known about state police
but smokeless tobacco prevalence remains the same
officer use of alcohol and tobacco in its many forms, yet
(Nguyen et al., 2014). Overall, 25.2% of U.S. adults use
research on state police agencies is scarce. Law enforcement
tobacco, with 19.5% using cigarettes, 6.6% using cigars of
officers labor in an occupation rife with stress (Blair et al.,
various types, 3.4% using chewing tobacco, dip or snuff,
2016; Harris et al., 2016; Kowalczyk and Sharps, 2017).
and 1.1% using pipe tobacco (King et al., 2012).
Such stress manifests itself in a variety of negative health
Some literature exists on police officer use of tobacco.
and wellness consequences and unhealthy coping mechan-
The literature generally concludes and research (both old and
isms on the part of law enforcement officers, such as stimu-
new, e.g. Jackson and Maslach, 1982; Wakil, 2015) suggests
lant use, lack of sleep, and lack of exercise (Tewksbury and
that police officer stress is directly related to more frequent
Copenhaver, 2016), as well as prescription drug use and
use of tobacco, as officers turn to tobacco to cope with occu-
suicide. Alcohol and tobacco use among law enforcement
pational stress. Various studies have attempted to gauge the
officers constitute such unhealthy coping mechanisms. What
extent to which law enforcement officers smoke. Law
is more problematic is that excessive alcohol use and smok-
enforcement officers have also been shown to have higher
ing often occur together (Black et al., 1999; Harrison et al.,
smoking prevalence than population samples from the same
2008; White et al., 2009). Furthermore, tobacco use and
location (Joseph et al., 2010). Charles et al. (2007) also found
excessive alcohol consumption can have myriad detrimental
20% of a sample of Buffalo police officers were current
effects on law enforcement officer performance.
smokers. At least one study by Gershon et al. (2002) showed
Although the research suggests that a substantial number
as many as 55%2 of police officers use tobacco. John Vio-
of law enforcement officers do smoke (which causes a
lanti, the leading researcher on law enforcement officer
range of negative health effects) and drink alcohol, much
health and wellness, has stated that overall approximately
less is known about how other health and wellness beha-
40% of police officers smoke cigarettes (Violanti, n.d.).
viors may affect state police officer use of alcohol and
Law enforcement officers are not immune to the nega-
tobacco. This study seeks to identify such factors as they
tive health effects of tobacco use, and demonstrate high
can be identified through regression analysis in a sample of
rates of esophageal cancer, which is likely related to officer
state police officers. Work in this area is important because
use of both smoking and chewing tobacco (QuitDay, 2016).
these research findings yield important policy implications
Law enforcement officers are also at risk of being exposed
for helping address officer use of alcohol and tobacco
to environmental tobacco smoke, which has a range of
amongst state police officers.
negative health effects (see above) (Lam et al., 2000). Stud-
ies using inferential statistical analysis techniques have
been able to demonstrate significant relationships among
Literature review
tobacco use and important risk factors. For example,
Franke et al. (1998) found in a sample of Iowa police offi-
Tobacco
cers, that tobacco use is a statistically significant risk factor
Tobacco products (which contain at least part of
for cardiovascular disease morbidity in comparison with
the tobacco leaf) can be chewed, snuffed, smoked, or
the general Iowa population, when controlling for other
sucked; tobacco contains nicotine, a very addictive
relevant risk factors. Police officers who smoke have also
psychoactive ingredient (World Health Organization,
been shown to be more likely to have metabolic syndrome
2016). Researchers have long known that tobacco is unsafe
than individuals in the general population (Tharkar et al.,
for human consumption (Christen, 1970; Dom, 1954;
2008) and officers who use smokeless tobacco are more
Moore et al., 1953). Despite decades of research leading
likely to have hypertension (Sen et al., 2014). Smoking also

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