The Benefits of a Tobacco Free Workplace
Reprint of an article
by John Payton from the Article Codex website,
articlecodex.com
Introduction by Dr. Don Rose, Writer,
Life Alert
--
How to deal with tobacco related sickness,
disease and death is a well-publicized problem in the
United States
. The workplace is a good place for employers and employees alike to address how
tobacco use can be prevented or reduced, and how to raise employee awareness about
the negative impact on health care costs. This article addresses these issues. --Don Rose
--
Tobacco related illnesses and deaths account for much of the medical expenses of
the
United States
. The sad thing is that these illnesses and deaths can be prevented, and in effect,
smokers are choosing their fate. As an employer, there may be things you can do
to make people aware of the benefits of a tobacco free workplace, and one of those
things begins with you.
An Employer's Part in the Tobacco Free Workplace
If you have smokers at the workplace, you know that the smoke is not only annoying
to other workers but is also a health hazard. Healthcare costs are consequently
increased, and insurance rates go up in workplaces where tobacco is used. In addition,
fire safety is decreased and absenteeism rises. As if to add insult to injury, a
work environment with smokers has furniture that will always stink and must be replaced
often. When you look at the whole picture, benefits of a tobacco free workplace
are many and large.
As an employer, you need to create firm smoking policies and make sure they are
clear to your managers. Managers are the individuals who have to enforce them, so
ambiguous or unclear policies will make them unenforceable. Perhaps you could also
make a program incentive where nonsmokers and those who stop smoking for a certain
period of time will get a bonus when the cost of healthcare goes down. Such action
will provide more benefits of a tobacco free workplace. Many municipalities and
states have laws concerning tobacco use at work, and violating them can cost the
employee and your company money.
An Employee's Part in the Tobacco Free Workplace
If you are an employee who smokes, you are no doubt aware of what you are doing
to yourself, and that quitting smoking may be as much a matter of self-esteem as
health. However, you are also probably aware that your smoke harms others. Many
people who smoke are considerate of others and choose a tobacco free workplace
by smoking outside.
However, some smokers are not considerate, and must have rules put in place to enforce
a health workplace for their peers. As an employee, you may be subject to laws as
well as company rules. You may see restrictions such as:
No smoking within 25 feet of door
Employee smoking area located in rear of building
Employees who smoke may be subject to higher costs for health insurance
There are many variations, but these are major themes that say, "This Company will
not tolerate exposure of healthy employees to smoke, nor will the company pick up
the tab for smokers' health insurance." Because smoking is a choice, this is only
logical.
If your company does not have a tobacco free policy then see your manager or other
company representatives and inform them of the benefits of a tobacco free workplace.
About John Payton
John Payton a staff writer for
http://www.wellnessproposals.com
located in Winston Salem, NC. His company is a one of a kind, independent
wellness consulting agency which assists groups in their search for affordable wellness
programming. Utilizing their fast, free, no risk, no obligation proposal service
groups can receive proposals from up to 30 different wellness companies. John's
work can also be found on
http://www.infinitewellnesssolutions.com.
The article above is covered by a
Creative Commons
Attribution-NoDerivs 2.5 License.
The information provided is, to the best of our knowledge, reliable and accurate.
However, while Life
Alert
always strives to provide true, precise and consistent information, we cannot guarantee
100 percent accuracy. Readers are encouraged to review the original article, and
use any resource links provided to gather more information before drawing conclusions
and making decisions.
Dr. Don Rose writes books, papers and articles
on computers, the Internet, AI, science and technology, and issues related to seniors.
For more information about
Life Alert
and its many services and benefits for seniors nationwide, please visit the following
websites:
http://www.lifealert.com
http://www.seniorprotection.com
http://www.911seniors.com