With some 6,000 people dying every year in the Republic from smoking-related diseases - more than six times' the combined number of fatalities caused by road accidents, work accidents, drugs, murder, suicide and AIDS - the issue of smoking in the workplace isn't going to go away, you know.
According to IBEC's assistant director of social policy, Mr Tony Briscoe, the employers' federation recognises that the issue of smoking in the workplace is "complex" and not exclusively an occupational matter.
"We are not convinced that absolute proscription is the appropriate route to address smoking," he says. "We are aware of a survey carried out by the Department of Health and Children on the experience of employers with the voluntary code.
"Based on those who responded, it indicated that about 89 per cent follow the code and it was working well or very well, while 11 per cent indicated it was not," says Mr Briscoe.
IBEC is concerned "what may generally be considered a social and addiction matter would be forced on the employer to enforce without regard for the difficulties likely to be encountered as a result".
Notwithstanding these difficulties, Mr Briscoe says IBEC would be prepared to discuss a possible review of the code with the appropriate agencies - provided such a development recognised the social and addiction difficulties and other factors. While the objective of seeking to reduce the consumption of tobacco to improve people's health "may be admirable, the means of meeting this objective must be carefully considered. Measures such as increasing taxation on tobacco products and suggestions of legislative prohibition are inevitably likely to be challenged and undermined, based on their consequences," he says. IBEC favours the voluntary code on smoking in the workplace developed by the Department of Health and Children. ICTU, the Irish Cancer Society and the Irish Heart Foundation also support the code. The voluntary code urges employers to consult employees and unions to develop a workplace smoking policy specific to particular workplaces. The policy should minimise or eliminate the exposure of employees, clients and visitors to smoke.
Smoking in the workplace is primarily a health and safety issue, and should be treated as a positive matter rather than a restriction. The policy should be built on the incontrovertible ill health effects of tobacco smoke. All workers should be consulted, not just at the outset but as the policy is developed. By "ensuring that action on smoking is not seen as action against smokers", divisions in the workforce should be prevented. In larger workplaces, any committee on smoking should include smokers, non-smokers, employee representatives and management.
The aim of a workplace policy is to achieve and maintain a healthy environment for all employees. This aim is supported by the general principle "that the preference of both smokers and non-smokers will be respected, but when these conflict, the preferences of the non-smoker will prevail", the code says. The policy adopted in a given workplace could: ban smoking in certain areas; provide designated smoking areas; restrict smoking to certain times; control smoking during specific activities such as a smoking break during meetings; recognise the right of an individual to veto smoking at a meeting; give special provision for asthmatics; or ban all smoking. There should be a complaints procedure for smokers and non-smokers and the policy should state disciplinary action for breaches of the smoking policy. A person should be appointed to advise and possibly arbitrate on the policy, says the code.
The recent report, Towards a Tobacco Free Society, to the Minister of Health and Children by the Tobacco Free Policy Review Group, takes as its aim a situation where there will be no smoking in the workplace. Its recommendations focus "not only on the restrictions which should be placed on the availability and use of tobacco products but also on the assistance which should be made available to smokers who want to break their addiction".
The report states: "The tobacco industry, in our view, faces serious questions about their knowledge of the harm caused by their product and by their marketing activities which impact so strongly and deliberately on children." According to Dr Dan Murphy, director of occupational medical services at the Health and Safety Authority, some of the health and safety legislation forbids smoking not merely for the health benefits of a smoke-free environment but for the purpose of preventing fires. "A lot of fires are due to carelessness of, regularly, elderly people," he says.
The Irish Cancer Society Quitline: 1850 201203 jmarms@irish-times.ie
