To assess occupational tobacco use and the impact of a tobacco-free policy in the Central Appalachia, an environment characterized by high tobacco use and production.

This study was an Internet-based survey conducted on 2,318 university employees. Descriptive, chi-square, and logistic regression statistics were performed. Unadjusted and adjusted odds ratios (AOR) with respective 95 % confidence intervals (CI) were reported.

The survey response rate was 50.8 %; of the respondents, 9.0 % were current smokers. Smoking prevalence among faculty, administrators/professionals, and clerical/support staff was 6.1, 8.1, and 13.1 %, respectively. While those respondents aged 30–39 years showed a significantly increased likelihood of being a current smoker (AOR 5.64, 95 % CI 1.31–9.26), knowledge that secondhand smoke is harmful (AOR 0.22, 95 % CI 0.07–0.70) and support for tobacco-free policy (AOR 0.11, 95 % CI 0.04–0.27) decreased the likelihood.

Low tobacco use among faculty and administrators confirmed the relationship between tobacco use and socio-economic status, even in a tobacco-producing environment. Disaggregation of tobacco use data assists the public health community in the efficient allocation of efforts and resources for cessation programs to reduce tobacco use in such environments.