The Trades Union Congress (TUC) is pleading with employers to help their employees face the ban on smoking due to come into force on 1 July, with quit smoking initiatives.
From Sunday, smoking in enclosed workplaces will be outlawed. The TUC says it is concerned that in the rush to make sure the law is met, employers have forgotten about putting the best interests of their staff first.
TUC General Secretary Brendan Barber said: “Many smokers say they intend to use the introduction of the ban as the reason they’ve all been waiting for to give up. So this weekend looks like the perfect opportunity for employers to encourage staff to stop. But instead of help and support for employees, we’ve heard much talk of banning cigarette breaks and of demonising smoking staff more generally.”
Barber said that whilst some smokers will stick to their intentions and quit this weekend, others will find it harder to do so.
“Employers may not want to see smokers on the street outside company buildings, but banning them from going outside is not the answer either. Bosses who crack down on fag breaks run the risk that staff will be tempted to light up in secret on company premises.
“A far better approach would be to help workers break the habit,” he added. “Employers should run in-house stop smoking sessions, and offer staff who smoke patches, gum or hypnosis to encourage them to quit. The small cost of providing this would be more than offset by the individual health and business benefits of reducing the number of smokers within the workforce.”
