Smoke & Vape-Free Workplace

Develop a comprehensive program to decrease smoking rates within employees.

Conduct Health Risk Assessments (HRA)
HRAs help organizations determine the percentage of the workforce that smokes or vapes and health risk factors that can be reduced by decreasing smoking and vaping rates in the organization.

Develop a Comprehensive No-Smoking/Vaping Policy
Prohibiting smoking of tobacco/cannabis and vaping on company property is more effective than smoking restrictions that allow smoking/vaping in designated areas or in company vehicles or worksites (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention).

Cover Smoking Cessation Aids Under Group Benefits Plan
While the majority of organizations cover prescription smoking cessation medications, Nicotine Replacement Therapy (such as patches, inhalers or gum) are not covered by the majority of employers. Reducing out of-pocket costs for effective treatments can be effective in increasing both the number of people who try to quit and the number of those who are successful.

Eliminate Lifetime Maximums for Smoking Cessation Medications
Many employers have lifetime maximums in place for smoking cessation medications, but it often takes individuals several quit attempts before successfully quitting smoking. Employers should ensure that annual maximums allow for more than one quit attempt a year.

Combine Cessation Aids with Counselling Sessions
Direct employees to Employee and Family Assistance Program (EFAP) smoking cessation counselling programs, local health professionals, or on-site group counselling during paid work time. Combining counselling and medications or NRT can increase the chance of success when quitting.

Create Partnerships with Others
Organizations should collaborate with outside partners who offer smoking cessation counselling or free Nicotine Replacement Therapy to offer additional Hamilton programs and services to assist employees who are trying to quit.

Build an Integrated Wellness Plan with a Communications Strategy
Employers need to incorporate smoking cessation programs within a broader health and wellness strategy. Integrating the smoking cessation programs will ensure that this strategy is aligned with other programs and properly communicated to employees. This will also help to ensure that employees know what support is available to them and where they can access the resources.

Engage Senior Management
Senior management buy-in will allow employees to directly see their dedication to developing a culture of health and wellness in the organization. It can also motivate and encourage employees to make the change and the organization will be committed to achieving better health outcomes.

Monitor and Evaluate the Program’s Success
To ensure the program is as effective as possible and to demonstrate the return on investment, employers need to measure success. This will provide direction on how to fine-tune the program and ensure that senior management remains committed to funding the program.

Helping Employees Quit: Workplace Toolkit(PDF, 2.9 MB)

Addressing Smoking & Vaping in the Workplace
Here are some ideas to address tobacco and vaping in your workplace:

• Provide smoking cessation information to employees.
• Use employee newsletters and the intranet to communicate the importance of quitting smoking, as well as the resources and benefits available to employees.
• Offer access to online smoking cessation counselling and information and develop a policy that allows employees to participate during breaks or during working hours.
• Check into existing services such as Employee Assistance Programs (EAP) to see if they provide smoking cessation counselling. 
• Train existing on-site medical personnel e.g. Occupational health nurses or physicians in smoking cessation counselling and where to refer clients. Develop a referral form and make it a policy to ask about and counsel on smoking cessation at every visit. Provide staff with self-help materials to dispense.
• Sponsor an on-site support group for those attempting to quit or for recent quitters.
• Ensure pharmaceutical cessation products are covered under the benefits package or reimburse for the cost of a quitting program.
• Provide or promote smoking cessation counselling or free Nicotine Replacement Therapy. 
• Enforce a smoke- and vape-free work environment. 
• Consider implementing a smoke-free grounds policy at your worksite.

Smoke-Free Policies
Limiting the areas where employees can smoke and enforcing these restrictions will reduce the likelihood of smoking and shift the organizational culture on smoking.

Issues workplaces need to be aware of with smoking policies:

• improper disposal of cigarette butts
• second-hand smoke from smoking areas near building entrances
• employees who smoke who aren’t respecting restrictions related to smoking a set distance from the building
• employees who take breaks to smoke or vape, in some cases where no formal breaks are allowed
• air quality and smell in company vehicles after a person who smokes has used it
• restricting clients/customers from smoking in non-designated areas