No smoking?

Hi Everyone. I need a little advice. We will be moving to a new building (which we will own) in July and the President has decided that he does not want to allow smoking anywhere on the property, even outside. Employee will have to leave the property if they wish to smoke.

I don't have a problem communicating this to employees, but how should I approach communicating this to our customers? Our new customers come to our facility once a month for training, and I'm concerned about telling them they have to leave the property to smoke, especially when it's cold or raining. Any thoughts?

Comments

  • 8 Comments sorted by Votes Date Added
  • Make big happy signs for each entrance, announcing how excited you are to be in the new facility, and to keep it safe, clean and healthy for everyone, there will be no smoking anywhere on the property.

    Maybe even send out mailers announcing the new property, and let them know they can look forward to a safe, clean, healthy and 100% smoke free facility!

    Make it sound like a very exciting thing that they too should be excited about. x:-)
  • You may want to check your state regs on "smoker's rights" before you do anything. I believe I have heard of some states that have some guidelines this. Or maybe I am smoking something...

    Also, keep in mind, as an ex-smoker, hard core smokers WILL smoke. Somewhere. They will find a place.
  • I can't speak for Tennessee, but Florida has some guidelines. Agree that it would be wise to check state regs before proceeding. Then, give known customers the benefit of advance notice. And I have the property is small, or you have alternative property close by. Without knowing what kind of training you do, and hence, your typical clientele, chain smokers could get very disruptive for their mid morning break of 10 to 15 minutes if they have to walk a mile away for a smoker friendly location.

    I'm not a proponent of allowing smoking on the property, but I guess I have learned to respect some of the challenges that diversity presents. In all fairness, non smoking clients whose class has to be disrupted by late entrants may opt for the nasty smell instead.

    best wishes,
  • Thanks for the suggestions. I checked with my attorney and we can legally ban smoking on the property. Most, if not all, of our clients work in churches so hopefully it won't be too much of an issue.
  • You might consider offering a free "quit smoking program" starting now as you approach July. Check your health insurance coverage first. Some (like ours) offer free quit smoking programs.

    Pay for the gum, patch, or whatever they need to quit. Its not that expensive and its a nice way to show the smokers you aren't unsympathetic to their addiction (and that is what it is).

    Quitting smoking is not impossible but its challenging. I probably tried to quit at least 40 times. I finally used the Nicorette gum and it worked great. It gives you a little dose of nicotine that helps keep you in a good mental state while you slowly wean yourself from the emotional and physiological addiction.

    Maybe this new building could be the motivation that these employees need to finally kick the habit.

    Good luck!
  • We are going "tobacco free" on July 1. Since we are a cardiology practice, it is pretty ridiculous to allow our employees and patients to smoke on the grounds.

    I have put up signs stating that for the health of our patients and employees we will be going "tobacco free". We have already informed our employees of this and of course, there was much grumbling and griping, but they have accepted it.

    All of our hospitals and most of the practices in our area have adopted this premise. Our State laws do not prohibit this.

    I am sure that we will have people "sneaking a smoke", but if they are caught, they will be subject to disciplinary procedures.


  • I heard the gum works good. I tried the patch, but I couldn't keep the darn thing lit.
  • Thanks for all the suggestions! I'm sure some will find a way to smoke if they want to, and who knows, the owner may change his mind in time.
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