Tobacco in companies

Work is the ideal place to inform, teach and prevent

Usually, workers more hours pass his life in the workplace than at home. The same applies to some employers, which, that area should be a place where people who operate there are comfortable and protected as far as health is concerned.

In my experience at work, first as an inspector of the Ministry of Labour, which enabled me to visit hundreds of companies, then charge Preocupacionales Area Agreements, and later as medical officer, I have noticed that many of the workers were properly protected in their workplaces, in some cases lack of protective measures and safety, in other cases by lack of awareness are the same workers who refuse to use the elements of labor protection, and in case particularly smoking, lack of precise information on the risks that their health and their own colleagues and friends, and in the case of entrepreneurs, perhaps the lack of unnecessary risks that they faced in the number of accidents that result from loss of concentration, a product of nicotine withdrawal, deterioration in the health of workers who smoke, and therefore the decrease in production, medical folder on diseases that are initially acute but when the employee is more capable states to suffer from chronic bronchitis, emphysema, heart attacks, decrease or loss of vision, hearing, smell or touch, as well as arrhythmias, hypertension or stroke, or expression of cancer in various organs caused by smoking, but also can feel these effects passive smoking, and where companies are just beginning to assess the health of their workers, and there they just begin to realize the damage that could have been avoided themselves.

Hence the need to implement treatments that help people stop smoking in their workplaces that clearly benefits both parties:

Smokers in the company:
- Pulmonary disease (80% of deaths caused by lung disease)
- Cardiovascular disease 20% of deaths
- Cancer 30% of cancer deaths. Source: WHO.
- Lose 30 to 60 minutes / day for smoking
- Lower wages, lower productivity
- More health expenditure
- Reduced life span and quality of life

Passive smoking:
- Increased chances of getting respiratory diseases, neurological, vascular, digestive, and various cancers
- Increased absenteeism
- Lower productivity by tension causes involuntary inhalation of smoke
- Increased cost to the individual and the company

For businesses there are basic reasons to restrict the consumption of snuff in the workplace:
- Compliance with current legislation to ban indoor smoking.
- Image: conform to international corporate policies.
- The world’s largest companies conducted information campaigns and smoking cessation to their employees.
- Provide an image of company concerned with the health of its staff.
- Protect all workers, especially those who do not smoke and avoid second-hand smoke inhalation.
- Contribute to the conservation of the working environment and improve the work environment to a majority of employees affected by smoke.
- To provide special protection to workers exposed to hazardous materials, because the combined exposure to tobacco snuff and certain substances create special hazards.
- The recognition that exposure to environmental smoke snuff the workplace is not voluntary and completely deprived of meaning to the concept of safe working environment.
- Increased productivity: it is shown that productivity increases by between 3 to 5% in people who quit smoking by increasing concentration, vascularization and oxygenation, among other advantages.
- Reduced absenteeism: sick leave significantly favors.
- Cost reduction: Retail deteriorating facilities, furniture, computers and machinery in general.
- Reduce the risk of fire and the cost of fire insurance.
- Improve the work environment: reduce the amount of snuff consumed by smokers and encourage them to quit smoking.
- Reduce disease among employees, medical costs and absenteeism.
- Avoid confrontation between voluntary and involuntary smoking workers.
- Achieve greater focus on the performance of work.

Types of Interventions

- Awareness Phase
- Study Phase
- Implementation Phase
- Follow-up phase
- Final Evaluation Phase

There is evidence that the companies “Smoke Free” workers seek to smoke less or quit smoking directly, either by making up some of the programs or by personal choice.
Since the first phase to the final evaluation of the process are active plant doctors, employees of all categories and ranges.
Awareness conferences can be conducted by invitation to the family of workers, and treatments can be inside or outside working hours, with costs shared by companies, employees, ART, social and professional association works to which it belongs, also can be made as individual or group treatments.

Final Action:
Prizes and incentives will be given those who have stopped smoking, and entered the company in the Ministry of Health, as smoke-free company.
Each smoker loses an average of 13.7 days a year for smoking and gives rise to a corporate cost of about $ 3,000 a year, which is why we must stress that these interventions are not a cost but an investment, and the reasons given for parts definitely worth it.

WE HAVE ENOUGH EXPERIENCE WITH THESE ACTIVITIES, SEE OUR PLANS AND PROGRAMMES FOR SPECIAL PROJECTS.