Immigration and access to fringe benefits: Evidence from the Tobacco Use Supplements

We examine the extent to which assimilation and residential ethnic enclaves are associated with immigrant access to smoking-related fringe benefits. In particular, we consider access to office smoking bans and employer-sponsored smoking cessation programs. These worksite characteristics are important and understudied fringe benefits. They are critical because they can protect immigrants from exposure to environmental tobacco smoke in the workplace and can help immigrant smokers quit smoking. We first document that immigrants have lower access to these benefits than natives. Second, we show that assimilation is positively associated with smoking-related fringe benefit access while enclave residence does not predict access.