I remember my first summer job at a company that delivered bottled propane, oxygen and other volatile gases. It was the early 1980s, so, of course, employees were allowed to smoke in the office. Ashtrays littered the desks of those who couldn’t kick the habit.
There was also smoking in restaurants, bars and airplanes, exposing who knows how many thousands of people to second-hand smoke.
Later that decade, many employers began moving the smokers to designated areas outdoors. And, thanks to the Smoke-Free Ontario Act (SFOA), which came into effect May 31, 2006, smoking is now banned entirely in enclosed public places and enclosed workplaces in the province.
But while employees are safe inside, outside’s another matter. The SFOA prohibits smoking within a nine-metre radius of any entrance or exit of a hospital, psychiatric facility or long-term care home, but what about nonhealth-related organizations? And does anyone truly enforce the rule? Frankly, even if smokers obey the nine-metre radius, it’s annoying for non-smokers to pass a designated smoking area and breathe in toxic fumes from someone’s cancer stick. Then, if they ride the elevator with you…yuck.
Smoking is a horrible addiction. And it costs employers. Data from the Conference Board of Canada shows, on average, a smoker costs a company $4,200 more yearly than a non-smoker. Those costs include lost productivity and healthrelated absenteeism.
So why do companies hire smokers at all? Some don’t. A required qualification for any position at the Canadian Cancer Society, for example, is being a non-smoker. And Ottawa-based Internet company Momentus states on its website homepage: “We drink. We swear. We don’t f*&#ing smoke.”
I wish more employers would follow their lead. Employees’ bad habits can damage a company’s bottom line—not to mention its other employees.
If more companies refused to hire smokers, or at least banned smoking completely on company property, it might actually help more employees quit.
I may smell of Big Brother, but at least I don’t smell like smoke.
Agree or disagree? Let me know.
Brooke.smith@rci.rogers.com