Should Restrictive Policies On Smoking At Workplaces Be...

Should restrictive policies on smoking at workplaces be punitive or supportive? Venkata Sravani Reddy Seethi Western Kentucky University Abstract Cigarette smoking has several adverse effects on an employee’s health, the productivity of the organization, and the overall economy of the nation. Several laws and policies have been initiated and implemented since the knowledge about the illness and deaths caused by smoking have been discovered. Different states have adopted these policies in different ways, ultimately aiming to ensure a healthier working labor and healthier future generations. The current paper provides an introduction to the ill effects of smoking, and the advantages and disadvantages of†¦show more content†¦It is estimated that smokers use the health care services approximately 50% more than those who do not smoke. Various measures have been taken in the past few decades to contain smoking at working places to ensure a healthier smoke-free environment. Hospitals were one of the first organizations to implement restrictive smoking policies at work. These policies were introduced in resp onse to the adverse effects of smoking, and classification of nicotine as a potential carcinogen. The hospitals were willing to promote smoke free environments, and to emphasize the harmful effects of tobacco smoke. The success rate of these restrictive policies varied in different organizations from reducing the number of cigarettes smoked per day, to complete avoidance of cigarettes, to no effect at all. Various studies have been conducted in both health care related organizations and non-health care related organizations to study the effect of these policies on the smoking behavior of employees. This paper elaborates on the effects of smoking on the health of the workforce, economy, and the productivity of an organization, followed by comparison of the effects of punitive restrictive policies and a caring approach, and a few recommendations for policy designing. The restrictive policies should ultimately result in a healthier labor, regardless of the nature of the organization. Effects of Smoking