Articles
From the May 2006 Aberdeen Area Chamber of Commerce Progress newsletter.
Smoking- the EOE
By: Ashley Seeklander
On April 1, 2006, a popular chain restaurant, located in Sioux Falls, went smoke-free in all three of its facilities. At the other end of the state, here in Aberdeen, there are many businesses that have also taken the plunge and gone smoke-free. If you want to find out which ones are smoke-free, go in and ask or simply go in and let your nose do the deciding. If you can’t smell what the chef is cooking, it probably isn’t smoke-free.
Here are some of the benefits of being a smoke-free business:
1. Lower healthcare costs
2. Lower workers’ compensation
3. Lower absenteeism rates
4. Improved productivity and fewer accidents
5. Lower maintenance and insurance costs for buildings and grounds
6. Smokers employed in a smoke-free workplace quit at a rate 84% higher than smokers working in place that are not smoke-free
7. Contrary to popular (and false) belief going smoke-free does not harm business revenue.
There may be a few people who won’t come back but there will be people who will now patronize your business just because it is smoke-free. Remember, if 20% of your customers need a cigarette, they can step outside. The other 80% cannot step outside to breathe. Having a non-smoking section is not sufficient. Think of it this way, having a non-smoking section is like having a no peeing section in a public swimming pool. Secondhand smoke does not know how to stay in the smoking section.
Ventilation systems are also insufficient. According to the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers, the only way to protect people from indoor exposure to secondhand smoke is to ban smoking. Ventilation systems simply cannot remove enough secondhand smoke toxins in the air to make it safe to breathe.
If a business has an employee who expresses interest in quitting tobacco refer them to the SD QuitLine hotline 1-866-SD-QUITS (1-886-8487).There are also kits available to businesses to help them take that plunge. For more information contact:
Janelle Wishard
NE Tobacco Prevention Coordinator
Human Service Agency
PO Box 1030
Watertown, SD 57201
Phone: 605-884-3523
Going smoke-free may sound scary with all kinds of uncertainties but it is something worth considering. I will leave you with a quote to ponder from Tom Bradley, the mayor of Los Angeles in1988:
“Smoking is an equal opportunity employer—it kills both smokers and non-smokers.”
