HR Industry News

Employers benefit from helping staff to quit smoking

— 10 April 2007 —

Employers are being urged to do more to help staff quit smoking in the lead up to the total workplace ban that comes into effect in England in July.

Several leading employers have already set an example by offering a wide range of support including hypnotherapy, acupuncture and even free nicotine patches.

In addition to launching monthly alternative therapy sessions, Asda has also set up employee support networks around the country in a bid to help its 140,000 staff stop smoking.

Meanwhile staff at the Carphone Warehouse invited employees at its London-based head office to use a lung-monitoring device that detects the extent of damage caused by smoking. PR firm Penrose Financial used the recent No Smoking Day as an opportunity to hand out free Nicorette patches to employees that required them.

No-smoking charities agree that employers should be doing their part to encourage employees to kick the habit. Ruth Bosworth, director of services at the charity Quit, says that although employers have no legal obligation to support their employees to stop smoking, those who do will be able to reap the benefits of a healthier, and more productive, workforce.

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