Towards A Healthier Workplace

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Towards A Healthier Workplace

• Setting the Scene Tobacco in the Workplace -
  Current Trends and Issues

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Towards A Healthier Workplace

• Objectives
• To outline the benefits of tobacco control
  policies
• To provide opportunity for participants to
  discuss the challenges and solutions involved
• To discover tools and resources that will assist
  in the implementation of a policy

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Health and Economic Burden in Saskatchewan

• Four people die every day in Saskatchewan or
  1,600 residents every year
• Direct Costs 86 million
• Indirect Costs 179 million
• Total cost 265 million
• Tobacco Revenues and Taxes 158 million

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Tobacco Control Amendment Act, June 2004

• Effective January 1,2005 all Saskatchewan
  residents are protected as all public places in
  Saskatchewan are now smoke-free

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• The ban prohibits smoking in enclosed public
  places
• -all or any part of a building or other enclosed
  public place or conveyance to which the public
  has access as of right or by express or implied
  invitation and includes

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Saskatchewan Workplace Legislation - Occupational
Health and Safety Regulations 1996

• Current legislation does not protect workers from
  second hand smoke
• Over half of workers are exposed to SHS in the
  workplace
• A review of this legislation is in the process

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Benefits of a Workplace Tobacco Control Policy

• Better Health
• Better Business
• Comply with Legislation
• Employee Satisfaction
• Avoid Litigation

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Economic Costs of Smoking

• Estimated total costs in Canada as a proportion
  of their gross domestic product is 0.56 per cent
• Over 300 million in direct and indirect health
  care costs for Saskatchewan and Manitoba alike
• As the diseases are known to be attributable to
  smoking, the burden attributed to smoking
  increases
• (Parrott, Godfrey, BMJ, April, 2004)

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Better Health - National Population Health Survey
Data

• Close to one in four Canadians aged 18 or older
  smoked in 2003
• In 1998, 48,000 deaths in Canada were
  attributable to smoking, an increase of about 25
  over the previous decade
• 50 of smokers will die as a result of a
  smoking-related illness

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Smoking is the single most important risk factor
associated with chronic illness and remains the
number one preventable cause of death in Canada
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Better Health - The facts

• Second-Hand Smoke (ETS) is a Class A carcinogen
• ETS causes 1,100 to 7,800 deaths in Canada
  annually - 1/3 of those in Ontario
• About 80 of a non-smokers exposure to ETS takes
  place in the workplace

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Smoking and workplace hazards

• Employees who smoke and work in industries with
  other hazards face increased health risks
• For example
• -occupational exposure to coal, grain, silica,
  welding pollutants etc. result in increased rates
  of bronchitis
• -interactive effects contribute to lung cancer
  in coke oven, gas workers and others

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Better Health

• SHS causes lung cancer, heart disease and nasal
  sinus cancer
• Is linked to stroke, lung, breast and cervical
  cancer, respiratory problems, miscarriages,
  sudden infant death syndrome and low birth-weight
  babies
• Aggravates allergies and asthma
• Causes eye, nose and throat irritations,
  headaches

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Second Hand Smoke

• In the US, passive smoking has been estimated to
  be responsible for 19 of total expenditure on
  childhood respiratory conditions
• Passive smoking causes illness and premature loss
  of life, at all ages from prenatal period to late
  adult life
• (Parrott, Godfrey, BMJ, April, 2004)

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BCs WCB Lost Lives 1989 - 1998

• Numbers of Deaths
• 252
• 126
• 104
• 94
• 86
• 59
• 3,000

• Industry or Causes
• Logging
• Trucking
• Construction
• Heavy Manufacturing
• Road Building
• Fishing
• Second Hand Smoke

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Better Business - How much does smoking at work
cost us?

• The Conference Board of Canada estimates the cost
  in 1995 dollars per employee per year to be up to
  2,565
• Increased absenteeism 230
• Decreased productivity 2,175
• Increased life insurance premiums 75
• Smoking area costs 85
• TOTAL 2,565

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Complying With Legislation

• Provincial legislation
• Municipal By-laws
• Health and Safety legislation
• An important reason to implement a policy is to
  comply with existing legislation or to get ready
  for impending legislation

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Complying with Legislation

• Legislation
• Some provinces have smoke-free workplaces
  Newfoundland, Quebec, Manitoba and 85 of
  workplaces in British Columbia and Ontario now
  govt plans to go 100 smoke-free
• Litigation
• Increasingly court cases are recognizing that
  second-hand smoke is a workplace hazard

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Smoke-free workplace laws sweeping the U.S.

• January 18, 2003 - New York City and Boston
  recently went smoke-free, and Dallas, Denver,
  Bloomington, Indianapolis, Austin and many others
  voting soon
• Massachusetts may soon become the 3rd state
  (after California and Delaware) with 100
  smoke-free workplaces, including restaurants,
  bars and nightclubs
• Major shift in political climate as data
  accumulates that smoke-free air is good for
  health and business
• Recent change restaurant associations no longer
  oppose restrictions

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Legislation contd

• Some workplace protection
• Tobacco Control Act 1994
• Legislative basis for effective protection
• Occupational Health and Safety Act
• Health Protection and Promotion Act
• Municipal bylaws

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Employee Satisfaction

• Most people dont smoke
• At any one point about one-half of these smokers
  are considering quitting
• Introducing a smoke-free workplace policy prompts
  many smokers to reduce or quit smoking

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Employees preference

• A majority of adults support smoke-free
  workplaces.
• Approx. 30 of current smokers support 100 ban
  (CAMH 2002 data)
• 95 of people believe smoking is harmful both to
  smokers and non-smokers health

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Impact of restrictions on smoking

• Quit rates? consumption rates ?when smoking is
  restricted or banned at work
• Californias Tobacco Control Program has
  documented considerable success
• between 1990 and 1993 per capita consumption
  among workers was reduced by 26
• now only motel and hotel rooms are exempt

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Smoking restrictions at work change cigarette
consumption rates

• Male daily smokers employed in workplaces where
  smoking was banned averaged 16 cigarettes a day,
  compared with a 19 cigarettes a day for those in
  workplaces with partial or no bans
• For female smokers, the comparable averages were
  14 and 15 cigarettes a day.
• (NPHS, 2003) (Note CAMH, 2000 23 vs 15 cigs)

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Union Perspective

• Employers have a profound responsibility to help
  people out with their health issues. They have
  hired the whole person and should be involved in
  individual health issues. 
• Lots of people have picked up the habit at work
  non-smoking bans are recent it was often a
  way to socialize. 
• It is nice to see the trends throughout Canada,
  that the numbers of smokers are decreasing. And
  there is no question that smoke-free workplaces
  have helped to contribute to this.
• Cathy Walker, National Director of Health and
  Safety, Canadian Auto Workers (CAW)

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Hospitality industry restrictions

• Historically managed as a public place issue, but
  is a workplace HEALTH issue for all bartenders
  and wait staff
• Has been strongly resisted by industry

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Support growing for smoke-free restaurants

• November 2002 - Heather Crowe says she wants to
  be the last person in Canada to die from
  second-hand smoke at work
• Featured on major Health Canada ad campaign
  launched 2003
• Awarded insurance claim for workplace exposure to
  SHS as compensation for lung cancer after 40
  years as a waitress

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Do restaurants really suffer?

• Economic hardship arguments have no basis in fact
• Payroll statistics by the BC WCB revealed that
  ban had no negative impact on business for
  Victoria, BC, hospitality venues Clean Air News
  1999
• Sales tax data for 15 American cities with
  smoke-free ordinances show no adverse sales
  effect - AJPH 1997

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Avoiding Litigation

• Employers duty to provide a safe workplace
• Exposure to tobacco smoke is unsafe
• Tobacco smoke increases other risks
• Employers who allow smoking are increasingly
  vulnerable to litigation
• Claims allowed in B.C., Alberta, Ontario
• No violation of smokers rights

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The best policy options now?

• Total ban indoors and outdoors on property
• Total ban indoors 3 to 9 metre ban from doors,
  windows and intake vents
• Total ban indoors with smoking restricted to
  Designated Smoking Areas outside the building at
  a far distance from entrances

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Ventilation no solution

• ASHRAE (American Society of Heating,
  Refrigerating, and Air-Conditioning Engineers of
  America) no longer provides standards for air
  with tobacco smoke, only for smoke-free air
• Ventilation to the outdoors and non-smoking
  sections do not completely remove the toxic
  constituents of tobacco smoke from the air

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A necessary part of all policies

• Explore options to support smoking cessation as
  part of a workplace wellness program

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Developing and Implementing a Workplace Tobacco
Control Policy

• A three step process using a systematic approach
  - which usually is a 4 month process !
• Preparation
• Implemenation
• Follow-up and Maintenance

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Preparation

• Building commitment
• Providing information
• Survey re employees needs
• Develop a plan including policy, costs,
  procedures, enforcement and evaluation
• Presenting the plan

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Implementation

• Set the launch date and circulate the policy
• Begin help with smoking cessation
• Plan for enforcement and train key people
• Launch the policy

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Follow-up and Maintenance

• Monitor implementation and employee satisfaction
  and compliance
• Support non-smoking
• Evaluate success of quit activities
• Evaluate long term outcomes employee and
  customer satisfaction, changes in absenteeism
  etc. and share results

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Where can we get help?

• Experienced health authorities
• CCTC/NCTH
• SHAF/NSRA
• Health Canadas Tobacco Program
• www.gosmokefree.ca
• Towards a Healthier Workplace Guidebook

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Its a health issue