Smoke Signals...
How to Institute an Effective No Smoking Policy

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Chances are your organization already has some sort of no smoking policy in place.  Increased public awareness of the dangers of smoking, increasingly strict state smoking laws, and rising healthcare costs have impacted organizations’ smoking policies.  Many workplaces have expanded their existing policies.  Others have made the move to a completely smoke-free work environment. 

According to the American Cancer Society, cigarette smoke contains more than 40 carcinogens and kills more than 50,000 Americans each year.  As a response, 28 states now have 100% smoke-free air laws at the local level.  New York State’s smoking ban of July 2003 has already made a major impact on air quality.  A recent study by the Roswell Park Cancer Institute (Buffalo, New York) indicates that pollution levels have dropped an average of 84% in public places since the ban was enacted.

In addition to health risks, smoking is financially costly.  TT Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimates that about $157 billion is spent each year in smoking-related health care expenses.  In addition, lost US workplace productivity related to smoking is estimated at $42 billion annually.  

This information has made employers sit up and take notice.  In the past, many organizations allowed smoking in designated areas, including lounges and outside on the grounds.  Tyler Health System of Texas decided to go completely smoke-free starting this July.  “Tobacco use has been proven to negatively impact health and lead to serious illness.  The health facilities in this area recognize that it is part of our mission to provide a healing environment for our patients and a healthy environment in which to work for our staff.  This is a move that is taking place across the nation,” said Steven P. Keuer, MD, an executive vice president in the system.  The response to the move to a 100% smoke-free environment has been mostly positive.  “Many employees are already signing up for the smoking cessation classes or requesting the nicotine starter packages,” said Rebecca Berkley, Public Relations Manager.

Stricter smoking policies are not limited to healthcare organizations.  According to the SHRM article, “HR Caught Between Conflicting Laws on Smoking and the Workplace,” home improvement retailer Lowe’s rolled out a stringent new smoking policy on September 1, 2003.  This was surprising for a company headquartered in North Carolina, a tobacco state with strong “smoker’s rights” laws.  The policy, which covers the corporate, regional, and store levels, applies to Lowe’s 150,000 employees, all customers, and vendors.  It bans smoking not only on all company property, but also inside parked cars in Lowe’s parking lots. “In a time of monumental health insurance increases, we want to encourage employees to have healthy lifestyles,” said Lowe’s spokesperson Allison Holliday.  “We’ve surveyed employees about this, and the response has been overwhelmingly positive. One store manager who was a smoker told me it was a great policy, and productivity has never been better.” 

“Help the QE to be Smoke Free” campaign in September 2003 with a ribbon-cutting ceremony and local media coverage. Their first step towards a smoke-free workplace was closing the “staff only” smoking room and the patio adjacent to the cafeteria where many smokers gathered.  Next, they created a “Zero Tolerance Zone” by installing talking no-smoking signs and UV detectors in and around the hospital, and by continuing to increase publicity of the policy both in-house and though local media.  Anyone caught smoking in a Zero Tolerance Zone is first educated on the matter.  Consistent non-compliance results in disciplinary action and possible dismissal.  Queen Elizabeth Hospital, like most hospitals aiming to become smoke-free, offers smoking cessation programs and support groups in order to assist employees who wish to quit.  Knowing that many employees cannot quit “cold turkey,” the hospital installed four temporary outside smoking shelters in unobtrusive areas of the hospital campus.  In June of 2005, the first shelter will be removed, followed in six months by the dismantling of the second shelter, and so on, until a 100% smoke-free environment is achieved.    

Many organizations with smoke-free policies find that employees, smokers and non-smokers alike, are supportive.  “The biggest violators of the policy are our guests who come on campus for the first time, so the challenge is getting the information to them before they violate the policy.  We have a good program in place that attends to patients’ nicotine issues soon after they are put in their rooms, and employees who want to quit are offered free smoking cessation programs,” said Linda Thomas, MS, LLP, Tobacco Consultation Service, who has been working with the University of Michigan Health System since they went smoke-free in February, 1999.

Thomas stresses the importance of recognizing the need for strong senior management commitment when instituting a smoke-free workplace policy.  “A place that claims to be smoke-free and then doesn’t do anything to enforce or make the policy work will become a joke for the employees, and that attitude will eventually be adopted by everyone, including guests and patients.  It takes commitment to shaping the behaviors of smokers and non-smokers, changing possibly decades-old culture, and being able to weather the challenges that may arise,” explained Thomas. 

Having a smoke-free policy can also link to an organization’s mission.  “The feedback that we have received has been good, even from smokers.  We are predominately a cardiac and respiratory hospital so this is consistent with our clinical focus,” said Peter Sweeney, Director of Communications & Patient Relations, St. Mary’s General Hospital, Ontario, Canada.

“Fired for Smoking,” the anti-smoking rule was designed in response to high healthcare costs.  “I don’t want to pay for the results of smoking,” said company founder, Howard Weyers.  The story has sparked outrage among smokers and civil liberties groups who feel that employers are stepping over the line by attempting to control employees’ personal behavior.

Other employers have followed Weyco Inc.’s lead by incorporating strict anti-smoking rules into their own hiring policies.  According to the article “No Ifs, Ands or Butts: Smokers Need Not Apply,” railroad company Union Pacific and Alaska Airlines will not hire smokers.     

There are a wide variety of resources that organizations can turn to when planning their own no smoking strategies.  Your first stop?  The American Cancer Society, which offers a wealth of information on creating a smoke free workplace.  Consider the examples above for other ideas that may fit with your organization’s culture.  Incorporating a successful no smoking policy into an organization’s culture takes time and commitment.  The benefits, however, will surely make both employers and employees breathe a little easier.

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