HEALTHY LIVING 101 | Tobacco-Free Businesses

Smokefree workplaces result in more productivity and increased drive. For employers, this translates to more profitability and a better work environment.

By establishing tobacco-free policies, business owners can enhance the health of employees and customers, and the wealth of their business. If employees do smoke, employers can offer resources to help them quit smoking through insurance coverage or worksite wellness programs. They can also promote the Oklahoma Tobacco Helpline to help employees who are thinking about quitting.

BENEFITS OF A TOBACCO-FREE WORKPLACE

By establishing a tobacco-free business, you can:

Protect employee health.

• Exposure to secondhand smoke increases the risk of an acute coronary heart event (less blood flow to the heart) by 25-35%.

Lower your costs.

• On average, Oklahoma businesses lose $4,400 a year for every employee that smokes. This economic loss is due to higher medical and insurance costs and shorter, less productive workdays.

Increase productivity and morale.

• Employees who take four 10-minute smoke breaks a day actually work one month less per year than workers who don’t take smoke breaks.
• Smokers have more trouble concentrating due to nicotine withdrawal.
• Smoking costs Oklahoma $1.73 billion a year in productivity losses.

Reduce the number of sick days.

• Employees who use tobacco products are more likely to miss work.
• On average, smokers miss 6.2 days of work annually due to sickness (including smoking-related conditions), compared to non-smokers who miss only 3.9 days of work per year.

Protect yourself from possible liability.

• Reduce the risk of lawsuits being filed by employees who become ill from inhaling secondhand smoke.
• Eliminate disability claims based on secondhand smoke exposure.
• Prevent violations of the Americans with Disabilities Act, which are filed by people with breathing problems who cannot work in your business due to tobacco smoke pollution.

Improve your company’s image.

• A tobacco-free policy shows that your business cares about the health of its employees, customers and community.
• The majority of Oklahomans support smokefree businesses, because they recognize secondhand smoke as a health hazard.

Make it your business to make your business tobacco free.