Smoke Free Policies

In considering smoking cessation programs as a part of a healthy work environment or in development of a workplace wellness program companies might seriously consider smoke free policies.

Some might argue that smoke-free workplace policies would cause workers to quit and customers to decrease, but that is not true. In the case of hotels and restaurants, the demand for smoke-free buildings and environments is much greater than the demand against it. In today’s society it is a known fact that tobacco and tobacco products not only cause damage to the human anatomy but also to the environment.

According to www.wmitchell.edu, the “goal of every smoke-free workplace policy is to promote a healthy and productive work environment for all workers, smokers and non-smokers alike”. They are “tools in which to protect public health” as well as environmental well being (according to the Fundamentals of Smoke free Workplace Laws). As stated on www.no-smoke.org, “the policies…reduce[s] health care costs, absenteeism and productivity as well as decrease the costs of maintenance and insurance liability risks and premiums”.

Policies can be conditional based on the business enforcing them. A simple decree is signed by all employees, confirming cooperation and adherence, and “no smoking” signs are placed around the workspace. In most businesses that do carry out smoke-free policies the degree states that “smoking shall be prohibited in any enclosed company facility” but that “smoking shall be permitted at a reasonable distance outside any enclosed area where smoking is prohibited…”, allowing both nonsmokers and smokers equal representation (a model workplace policy as provided by Americans for Nonsmokers’ Rights). For these reasons, enforcing smoke-free policies in the workplace has become the conventional solution to “going green”, staying fit and overcoming the hardships of the current economic crisis.

[ information received from www.wmitchell.edu and www.no-smoke.org on 9/27/09]