Stub out smoking now, firms told

Business across the UK have been urged to bring an immediate halt to workplace smoking, ahead of next year’s legislation.

From next summer all workplaces in England must be smoke-free – or employers will face prosecution.

The law change will affect a quarter of UK workers and two million workplaces. In industries where smoking and ‘fag breaks’ are still traditional, the ban will represent a major shift in culture.

A fervent campaigner for smoking bans, the TUC, which has significant percentage of members within manufacturing, has urged bosses to take action now rather than putting off the inevitable.

It argues that employers will be able to manage the transition better if they begin negotiating now with workers about how a smoking ban will work.

Brendan Barber, general secretary of the TUC, said: “For every month that employers wait to introduce a ban more employers will die or become seriously ill as a result of second-hand smoke at work.

“There is no sensible reason why employers can’t be sitting down with staff now to talk about how the ban will happen and how to make every workplace a safer, happier place to be.”

Smoking was banned in Scotland in March this year and will come into place in Welsh workplaces in the spring.

The TUC has issued a guide on ‘Negotiating smoke-free workplaces’ available on its website.

© Crimson Business Ltd. 2006