Second-Hand Smoke

  
 

Second-Hand Smoke

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British Columbia Ministry of Health

 

Working Smoke-free


Second-hand smoke in the workplace

More than 70 percent of the adult population in B.C. does not smoke. More and more, people are learning that inhaling the smoke from someone else’s cigarette is just as hazardous as if they smoked, themselves.

Workers in bars, restaurants, bingo halls, and gaming establishments receive four to six times the exposure to second-hand smoke as the general public. Food service workers are 50% more likely to develop lung cancer than members of the general population.

Nicotine can be found in the blood of non-smokers up to 40 hours after exposure to second-hand smoke. The fact is, lighting up in the workplace too often means putting another person’s health at risk.

It’s Puzzling

I hope I’m not working myself to death...

It's Puzzling game

Games provided by the Alberta Alcohol and Drug Abuse Commission (AADAC). Other AADAC resources can be located through www.aadac.com.

Breathing easier and safer at your workplace

Eliminating smoke from the workplace can have surprisingly fast positive results. When California went entirely smoke-free on January 1, 1998, it took very little time for the health of bartenders to improve.

  • Scientists interviewed 53 bartenders when smoking was allowed in the workplace and again after the bars were smoke-free. Two to three months after implementation of smoke-free regulations, 59% of the bartenders said their symptoms were gone, while 78% of the bartenders said their symptoms of eye, nose and throat irritation disappeared. Even bartenders who smoked outside the workplace felt healthier without second-hand smoke on the job.

Workers and the public can only be protected from the dangers of second-hand smoke if smoking is:

  • Prohibited on the worksite, or,
  • Restricted to a designated smoking area which is either an outdoor location or a separate, independently ventilated room that workers do not have to enter while working, except in an emergency or to investigate illegal activity.

Is smoke free bad for business?

There’s no evidence that protecting workers from second-hand smoke will hurt business. In 1998, the Capital Regional District in Victoria, B.C. implemented a Clean Air Bylaw prohibiting smoking in all indoor public places, including bars and restaurants. Liquor sales figures show no negative impact on business nine months after implementation of the bylaw.

Here’s what else was learned:

  • Employee health, productivity and morale are higher in a smoke-free workplace.
  • Smoke-free work means lower cleaning costs, less damage to furniture and equipment, and less risk of fire.

Smoke-free workplaces can help employers avoid smoking-related workers’ compensation claims.

In fact, smoking in the workplace often results in higher expenses for employers. It has been estimated that, on average, each employee who smokes costs the employer between $2,000 and $6,000 a year in the United States (as reported by Health Canada, 1996). These costs are attributed to increased absenteeism, property damage, and health and fire insurance costs.

Other studies report that non-smoking employees have difficulty concentrating when second-hand smoke is present.

These factors, along with health concerns, have led many employers to institute smoking controls in the workplace. Some have introduced policies that restrict smoking in the workplace, or limit certain types of jobs to non-smoking employees. Others offer programs designed to encourage and assist employees to give up smoking.

WCB Workplace Policy in British Columbia

A WCB regulation prohibits smoking in all workplaces in BC except in establishments in the hospitality industry.

On May 1, 2002, regulations came into effect requiring employers in public entertainment facilities (including restaurants, bars, pubs, lounges, nightclubs, bingo halls, bowling alleys, and gambling casinos) to control workers' exposure to second-hand smoke by either prohibiting smoking in the workplace, or restricting smoking to separately structured and ventilated designated smoking rooms.

These regulations do not override municipal bylaws that prohibit smoking even in designated smoking rooms, i.e. Victoria’s Clean Air Bylaw.

Workers in the hospitality industry can choose whether to enter a designated smoking room, and cannot be discriminated against for choosing not to do so. The regulation requires that there be only intermittent exposure to second-hand smoke. Workers who choose to work in a designated smoking room must not work there for more than 20% of their work shift.

>>>> Living Smoke Free

References:

  • Health Canada’s web site Go Smoke Free: The Facts About Tobacco, What is Second-Hand Smoke?; Second-Hand Smoke, The Facts; and Family, the more you know about second-hand smoke….
  • Clean Air Coalition web site: Second-Hand Facts: Second-Hand Smoke in the Workplace.
  • Repace, J., “Can Ventilation Control Second-hand Smoke in the Hospitality Industry?” June 2000, p.43
  • Physicians for a Smoke Free Canada, “Second-hand Smoke”, September 1999.
  • Canadian Centre for Occupational Health and Safety web site: OSH Answers; Health Promotion/Wellness/Psychosocial/Environmental Tobacco Smoke: Workplace Policy.
  • Clean Air Coalition web site: WCB Regulation: History of WCB Second-Hand Smoke Regulations.