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Written Policy on smoking in the workplace
 
We are often asked for assistance on creating a written policy on smoking in the workplace. The National Council Against Smoking offers this draft as a service. The legal obligation for compliance rests on the employer. Copies if the Act and Regulations are available on our website www.againstsmoking.co.za and on request from   ucko@iafrica.com
Please include the Quit Line  011 720 3145 in your policy documents. Smokers can get help from us to quit. It's a free service.
Here is some information and some guidelines.
 
Let’s begin with RIGHTS:
It is very important that there is no right anywhere in any law, to smoke. Smoking is not a right. (in the UK a person about to be executed for treason had the right to a last cigarette, but not in SA). Smoking is a choice. Sometimes that choice is made, not by free will, but by influence of advertising and peer pressure. Sadly, that choice is quickly removed and replaced by an addiction to nicotine. The right which we all have is essentially the right to clean air. Section 24 of our Constitution gives us the right to "An environment that is not harmful to our health or wellbeing . . . . ." 
People who smoke have the same rights as all people, but smoking is not one of them. Indeed once they exercise their right to choose to smoke, that right is limited or restricted by an Act of parliament. They are further bound by our Constitution to protect everyone's right to clean air.
 
A quick look at STRESS:
Research has indicated that smoking actually causes more stress. The heart rate increases, blood vessels constrict, the body is deprived of oxygen and stress levels increase. In addition the smoker knows of the many harmful effects which smoking causes him/her and their family as well as the huge cost of their addiction. This knowledge further increases stress. The apparent stress relief which a smoker feels when he smokes is simply a chemical reaction of nicotine in the brain. It feels real, but it is an illusion. The stress is external and in reality nothing changes. Indeed when the stress increases and they want to smoke again it is the craving to feed their addiction to nicotine and their fear that they can’t control it which further increases their stress levels. With all this, productivity declines.
 
Smokers will go for several hours without a cigarette if they attend a theatre performance. They will go without a cigarette for 3 hours on a flight between Johannesburg to Cape Town and for 11 hours on a flight to London. Remember that most smokers (70%) want to quit.
When the Tobacco Products Control Amendment Act (Act no. 12 of 1999) was came into force on 1 January 2001, many employers simply banned smoking in the workplace and left it there.  Whether you choose to employ smokers or not to employ smokers is a policy matter. You might choose to employ only non-smokers. The policy however has nothing to do with whether or not management or the owner smokes. Today, employers generally sway between not wanting to employ smokers (usually if management are non-smokers) or wanting to employ smokers (if management are smokers and reluctant to make their environments smoke free). However, law prohibits smoking in the workplace. Either way, employers do need to consider the effect that the tobacco control laws have on productivity. The reality is that only 22% of adults smoke. Productivity increases when there is no smoking in the workplace. Smokers smoke fewer cigarettes. More people quit smoking. Both smokers and non-smokers take fewer sick days. Non-smokers previously got sick because of their exposure to tobacco smoke pollution.  In the past, staff would sit at their desks and have a smoke, or pop outside for a few minutes.  Now companies may make designated smoking areas. This is a choice as you can also decide to go totally smoke free and smokers must go outside to smoke. Either way it means that staff have a more "social" place to escape to for a smoke, which in turn means disruption to work and leaves desks and phones unattended.  The solution to the problem is two fold. Companies must have a written policy on smoking and need to build into their Company Policy and Procedures guidelines on how many times a day and how much time an employee may spend on smoke breaks. This is a management decision for policy and is not stipulated in the tobacco control law. Employers pay a salary for labour (time worked). Employees are not paid to smoke.
 
What is a Policy?
A policy is a formal, written statement of what action is to be taken, why it is being taken, and how it will be taken. The objective of a smoke-free workplace policy is to establish a healthy, smoke-free environment for all employees. The policy should be brief, consistent with the objective and clearly written in specific behavioral terms.  The law requires that since 1 April 2001 employers to have a written policy on smoking. The policy should incorporate the disciplinary procedures for failure to comply, as stipulated in the Labour Relations Act and the Basic Conditions of Employment Act. The Act places a binding obligation on employers to protect employees who want to be protected from tobacco smoke and to allow employees to object to tobacco smoke in the workplace “without retaliation of any kind”.
It canot be a condition of employment that an employee will work in a smoking area and an employer cannot require and employee to sign an indemnity.
 
Benefits of a Smoke-Free Policy
A smoke-free policy has advantages for smoking and non-smoking employees, including: -
  • Improved work environment: A healthier, cleaner, safer and more pleasant working environment is created.
  • Better health: Non-smokers are no longer exposed to the harmful effects of tobacco smoke pollution. It also provides an opportunity for smokers to cut down or quit smoking.
  • Improved morale: Working relationships are improved as there is a reduction or removal of tension between smokers and non-smokers.
  • Increased health awareness: Awareness of the health risks of smoking is raised.
  • Increased productivity.
  • Less absenteeism.
  • Lower cleaning costs.
  • Customer and supplier satisfaction is improved as the vast majority do not smoke and do not like being with you if the are exposed to tobacco smoke pollution
  • Possible assistance to quit: Many organisations offer assistance to smokers who wish to quit or incentives to kick the habit. Medical Aids now pay for certain medications and courses. The Tobacco or Health Information line (011) 720-3145 provides a free service for individuals. Over 70% of smokers want to quit.
Preparing for action
A smoke-free workplace policy can be successfully introduced only if the senior management within an organisation has made a clear decision and a firm commitment to take action. The law requires that they MUST take action and have a written policy. While it is possible for management to dictate a policy, the most successful policies are those where the employees fully support the policy. Management is encouraged to seek full participation of all the workforce (including the unions) in the development and implementation of the policy.
Take the right approach to ensure the smooth implementation of your policy.
 
  • Get involvement
    The key to the overall success would be to consult with everyone - that includes management, workers and unions. Everybody should have an opportunity to express their opinion.
  • Communicate at all levels
    A smoke-free policy affects all employees. Everyone needs to be kept informed of the process and progress. It should be a two-way communication.
  • Be supportive 
    A positive and supportive attitude from management, and from non-smokers, can help smokers to follow the policy.
  • Ensure equity 
    A smoke-free policy should apply to EVERYONE. Policies which attempt to allow some people to smoke, for example, in their offices, are likely to lead to conflict. There is no such a thing as a “private” office. Not even the boss. People may smoke only outside or within a designated smoking area.
  • Manage your environment 
    Ensure that outdoor smoking areas are away from doors, windows, ventilation inlets and air conditioners. Smoke blowing into the workplace is unpleasant and harmful. Don’t allow smoking outside your main entrance. It presents a bad image of your company.
  • Implement immediately 
    The law required a written policy to be implemented from 1 April 2001. If you do not intend to create a designated smoking area then smoking can take place only outside. If you plan to create a smoking room then smoking must take place only outside, until structural changes are completed and the smoking area complies with the regulations.

 

Remember:
The issue is smoking, not smokers and non-smokers. Whether people smoke or not is a personal matter, it is where they smoke and how it affects others that is the issue.
The basis for a smoke-free policy is the protection of employees from harm caused by others and the responsibility of employers to provide a healthy and safe work-place under the Tobacco Products Control Amendment Act (Act no. 12 of 1999).
Focus on the general benefits of the policy to everyone in the organisation, rather than highlighting the restrictions. The matter of “time off to smoke” is not regulated. Some policies permit a maximum of 3 breaks per day. Consider that non-smokers might then want equal time off from work and asked to go home 2,5 hours early on a Friday. Some policies do not permit any time off for smoking.
 
5 Steps to Assuring a Successful Smoking Control Policy
There are five progressive steps that a company should take to assure itself a successful smoking control policy: These are suggestions of what might happen in very large companies. In smaller companies the process is simpler and quicker. Indeed it could be so in large companies as well.
1.   Cooperation begins with a management review in which a presentation is made defining the issue and the decision for which management is responsible. The management team then selects a program coordinator, a policy development team, and the work for which the team will be responsible. In small companies this is a tighter process
2.   The first task of the policy development team is to complete a situation analysis, or internal information gathering process. This includes surveys and/or reviews of employees, labour relations and contacts, facilities, extent of personnel policies, and so on.
3.   Once the relevant facts are gathered, strategic planning begins, resulting in a written policy. The planning should include consideration of such important factors as policy enforcement, cessation assistance, smoking breaks, and in-house communications.
4.   The fourth step of the process is actual implementation. The law required smoke free workplaces since 1 January 2001. Therefore the workplace should be smoke free immediately while the legally required written policy is being discussed. Next announce the policy, maximize employee communications, holds special events, put cessation programs in place, make any physical changes to the work site that may be necessary, and begin monitoring the policy.
5.  The final stage, evaluation, allows the company to measure the result of the policy and its implementation. The benefits of reduces absenteeism and increased productivity can also be measured