Smoking Issues

Healthy lifestyle advice is becoming more and more important on construction sites.

This can include specialist advice and support regarding dietary issues, drugs or alcohol abuse and smoking.

Sites could encourage workers to stop smoking and lead a healthier lifestyle.

If workers do not want to quit smoking, a sheltered, secluded area can be created to ensure that smokers have a segregated area to go to, which will not effect non-smokers or the general public.

Examples of how sites have tackled the issue of smoking include:

• The company encouraged all personnel that smoked, to join their ‘Quit Smoking’ campaign. As an incentive, for every month a staff member/operative stayed on the scheme, the company donated money to charity;
• A subcontractor was able to convince the main contractor and the multinational company to have a secluded smoking area on the site, where there was a rule of no smoking within the client’s boundary;
• The contractor installed 2 smoking shelters, one for people smoking cigarettes and another for people smoking electronic cigarettes;
• A quit smoking workshop was arranged for those considering quitting;
• To tackle the litter from smoking, toolbox talks were introduced, providing key facts relating to smoking associated litter. E.G. cigarette butts take 12 years to degrade, operatives were also provided with free portable ashtrays.