Smoke-free Workplaces
It has long been known that tobacco and smoking are hazardous to health, causing 30% of all cancer deaths and 85% of lung cancers. In addition to serious health consequences for employees, tobacco use has other negative consequences in the workplace, including exposing other workers to second-hand smoke. Quitting smoking not only protects the health of your employees, it increases employee productivity, reduces absenteeism, and decreases insurance claims. For employees that are ready to quit or reduce their tobacco use (mostly smoking), it can be the number one most impactful health change that they can make. Support your employees in their attempts to go smoke-free and build a healthier work environment for all staff!
Educate
Do you want to provide information on becoming smoke-free to employees? The Educate module will supply you with information to share with employees through newsletters, posters, or other internal communications. Topics include fact sheets and tips on dealing with cravings, health benefits of quitting, how to help a co-worker and more.
Act
Providing opportunities that encourage employees to become smoke-free can help them move from education to action. As part of creating a healthy workplace, build in activities that encourage employees to become smoke-free like a quit and win challenge.
Download the following materials to help you get ideas or plan these activities:
Support
Supporting a smoke-free environment at the workplace is important. The Canadian Cancer Society offers 3 programs that can help you reduce or stop smoking both at the workplace and in your everyday life.
Other Resources
One way to create a supportive environment is through the use of organizational policies that support employees in making healthy living choices. The Support module has tips on how to develop a smoke-free workplace policy, view a sample policy, and access other ideas on how to support a smoke-free workplace.
Download Support Resources:
- Ideas and Suggestions for Creating a Supportive Workplace for Quitting Smoking
- Health Benefit Plans
- How to Help a Co-Worker
Download Policy Resources: