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“SMOKEFREE IN A BOX” : A GUIDE FOR SMOKEFREE WORKPLACES

The Global Smokefree Partnership, of which the World Heart Federation is a member, has published “Smokefree in a Box”. A guide which aims to help companies design and implement a smokefree workplace. Experience from smokefree companies shows that proper implementation of these policies requires planning and coordination. The tools in this guide provide senior leadership, managers, and staff with easy-to-use advice on what to do from the moment their company decides to implement a smokefree policy.

Protecting workers from secondhand smoke

Over the past 20 years, workplaces around the world have seen a sweeping movement towards smokefree air policies. Many companies have adopted smokefree policies voluntarily to protect workers and customers from the proven dangers of secondhand smoke. Other companies have created smokefree workplaces to comply with existing laws. Companies that have gone smokefree have found that these policies save money as well as lives. The policies also improve worker satisfaction and the company's public image.

Helping companies understand the health and economic benefits of going smokefree

The objectives of the “Smoke-free in a Box” toolkit are to help companies understand the health and economic benefits of going smoke free and provide them with the necessary resources to design an effective smoke-free policy, communicate it to their employees and the general public, monitor compliance with it, and integrate it into a larger tobacco control health and wellness programme. The toolkit has been produced in English and will be translated into Chinese, French, Portuguese, Russian, and Spanish.

While there is no “one-size-fits-all” plan for going smokefree, this toolkit draws from the experience of workplaces around the world to provide the basic elements of an effective smokefree plan. Companies can adapt the advice in this toolkit to fit their unique circumstances.

The facts

  • Numerous studies have documented significant declines in hospital admissions for heart attacks following the implementation of comprehensive smokefree laws
  • A review of smokefree workplaces internationally concluded that only comprehensive smokefree policies are effective at eliminating exposure to secondhand smoke; partial measures do not work
  • Smokefree policies are good for business
  • Well-designed, independent studies have shown that smokefree laws do not have a negative economic impact on the hospitality or tourism industry
  • Benefits for employers include increased employee productivity, reduced sickness in employees from smoking and secondhand smoke exposure, reduced injuries, and reduced risk of fire damage
  • If all US workplaces were smokefree, it would save over $60 million in medical costs within the first year and an estimated $280 million in the first seven years
  • Smokefree policies save lives and protect employee health. For example, respiratory symptoms among bar workers in Scotland decreased by 26% after smokefree legislation was implemented in 2006.

Would you like more information?

Please forward this valuable resource to companies and organizations in your country that are planning to go smokefree:


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