Cigarettes can ignite tension in the workplace

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Dear Joan:
I work for a small company (approximately 25 people) and I'm unhappy with the smoking policy there. We have 8 smokers and 19 non-smokers. My company is owned by a husband and wife team. She is a non-smoker and seems to have 98 percent of the power there. Her husband is a smoker. Another key figure in the company is the sales manager, who is also a smoker.

Smoking is supposed to be confined to the "lunchroom" which is only a lunchroom to the smokers. The non-smokers never use it; we consider it a smoking room. However, the owner and the sales manager smoke in their office. All the other smokers smoke in the "lunchroom."

I'm fairly new at this company but it didn't take me long to realize that the smokers have no clue as to the discomfort they cause the non-smokers. Either that or they just don't care. They seem to have a total disregard for the air that everyone else has to breathe. They don't seem to realize that I can smell their smoke one or two offices away. They don't know how gross it is for a non-smoker to have to walk through the smoky lunchroom just to get to the refrigerator. They're the kind of smokers that think just because their second-hand smoke isn't floating directly into my nose that I must not be able to smell it or that I couldn't possibly be bothered by it.

My question is, what can I do to bring about a change in the smoking policy. I want to keep smoke totally out of my working space. And how can I do this without it being a "career limiting move." I don't want to get nasty but my complaints with the owner and the smokers go nowhere. Some of the other non-smokers have voiced their dislike of the situation also, but nothing has changed. The owners have installed some wimpy exhaust fans in the ceilings of the rooms where smoking occurs, but they don't seem to help much at all.

Answer:
As a former smoker I've been on both sides of this emotional issue. Thinking back, when I smoked, I had no idea how it affected those around me. Like all smokers, I had built up a tolerance for the odor and so I didn't know how far it carried. When I smoked in my office, I thought the smell disappeared shortly after I put my cigarette out. Was I wrong. Today, I can smell a smoker six feet away in a grocery store-just from the odor on their clothes...I suspect you can, too.

I suspect that the owner and the other smokers don't realize the intensity of the odor and the negative affect it has on non-smokers. And although they may feel they have a right to smoke, the negative affects are damaging the working environment for everyone. All employees have a right to breathe healthy air. This can be particularly significant in the case of pregnant employees and employees with asthma and other health problems.

Companies who have experimented with allowing smoking in "designated" areas have found that it usually doesn't work. The non-smokers don't feel it's fair because they won't use the area. When smoking is allowed in offices, a class system is set up where those with status can smoke and those without an office can't. It breeds resentment and, in some cases, law suits. Even though it may seem unfair to smokers, the only solution that makes sense is to ban smoking completely.

Contact the American Lung Association and the American Cancer Society. They will provide you with complete information on programs and resources for companies who are working on this issue. They also have many case studies and research which will help you make a presentation on the best course of action for the company.

Since the female owner isn't a smoker, she may be more willing to listen to your proposal. Approach her with a plan. Stay calm and solution oriented. Suggest setting a date in the future after which smoking will be banned entirely. Use the time leading up to that date to hold smoking cessation programs or provide self-help materials.

If all the other non-smokers feel as you do they may be willing to support you in your proposal. Emphasize the point that the morale will be improved and good employees won't be driven to leave. Use the case studies to point out some of the legal liabilities the company could face. Finally, point to the national trend that clearly shows that work places everywhere are banning smoking because it's the right thing to do.

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