Smoke free environment

Taking steps to a smoke-free environment: Supporting your workforce to quit smoking

Wind your mind back to 2004. An assortment of characters appeared in a brilliantly written BBC sitcom called The Smoking Room. The action all took place in (that’s right, you guessed it!) a designated room for smokers in the bowels of a big company building. It seemed that the room was rarely unoccupied, ‘shop talk’ was banned and we learned all about the workers’ lives as they shared their frustrations, views, worries, daily dramas and judgements.

Brian Dooley’s comedy might have been a delicious piece of fiction but when you think that most companies had smoking rooms until the law changed in 2007, it’s not hard to see that businesses were clocking up lots of lost time costs through the smoking break culture.

Even now, with the introduction of England’s smoking ban prohibiting indoor smoking in workplaces, it is estimated that smoking breaks and sick leave of people who smoke, costs UK businesses around £8.7 billion per year.

The fact that smoking damages health cannot be avoided. Smoking is one of the major risk factors for heart disease and 20,000 cardiovascular disease deaths are attributed to smoking in the UK each year. It is estimated by QUIT, a charity that helps people to stop smoking, that half of all people who smoke will die because of their habit and there’s countless evidence that suggests people who smoke long-term can knock an average of ten years off their life.

Scary.

Most people who smoke want to give up but need support to do so. With people spending more time at work than they do at home, the workplace is a great place to offer support, and intervention can be incredibly successful. Not only do you have a captive audience, so it is easier to reach smokers (especially otherwise healthy adults that might not have a lot of contact with health services), but you can provide a tailored programme of support for people who might ordinarily find it hard to get to health appointments.  Workplace culture and policy can undeniably influence behaviour and disrupt habits – it’s much harder to smoke during the day if you operate a smoke-free operation and premises…

OK, so as an employer:

  • you’re in a great position to help
  • you’ll save money through lost time costs
  • you’ll reduce absence rates
  • and you’ll have a healthier and happier workforce

What are you waiting for?

Where do you start?

  • Review: Look at the current smoke-free policy of your workplace. Is the policy fit for purpose? Could it be improved?
  • Consultation: Conduct a survey of all employees to find out how many people might need smoking cessation and what sort of support they would find useful. Use the results to shape your programme which will form part of your overall policy.
  • Research: Look at what other organisations and companies already do. Smoke-free policies and smoking cessation are not new – learn lessons from people who have already conducted successful step changes.
  • Investigate: Explore what services are available. There are lots of NHS programmes and free support that you can tap in to. Occupational Health companies can provide tailored programmes and there are online services too. Work out what budget you have available and what would suit your workplace and employees. One size doesn’t fit all. It has to meet the needs of your business.
  • Creation: Tailoring the policy and programme to your businesses and workforce will ultimately determine how successful it is. Make sure your programme is practical and fits in with your day to day operations. There’s no point in creating a programme where workers need to take time off or lose money to take part. You’ll need to consider what is practical and the impacts.
  • Implementation: To ensure success you will need buy in from all levels of the business. All departments need to work closely together to roll out the changes and provide the right support. Managers can often act as role models, setting out the company position and leading by example.
  • Communication and promotion: Utilise all internal communication channels and make sure everyone knows about it. Posters, emails, company magazines, social media are all great ways to share the message. Try including it in your staff handbook and in your induction packs. Remember that this is a long-term programme and you’ll need to repeat activity.
  • Evaluation: Measure the success of the programme in terms of take-up, cost and positive impacts. Tailor the programme as much as your budget allows. You might also need to think about long-term measures. What support is in place if people relapse?
  • Feedback: Everyone loves a great big ‘well done’ and encouragement is a great motivator. Tell staff how well they are doing. Use positive stats in future publicity and share your success stories.

Other things to think about:

  • Points win prizes. Consider incentivising the programme. Some people need an extra bit of motivation.
  • Keep it in the family. Many smokers who are trying to quit say they find it hard to be around other smokers. Can you extend the programme to include other family members, helping the whole family to be happier and healthier?
  • Strength in numbers. Recruit champions within the business to encourage and support. No-one likes to be lectured but peer support can work wonders if delivered in the right way. 

So, if you would like to keep your metaphorical ‘Smoking Room’ empty and achieve a smoke-free organisation and environment why not contact us today to see how we can help.

Call a member of our team on 01228 513687 to discuss promotion days for proactive management and support of all health issues and lifestyle choices which includes stopping smoking.