HR Policy Handbook > Employee Conduct > Smoking
Many employers prohibit smoking in the workplace to improve employee health and productivity and avoid lawsuits by employees who claim to be adversely affected by secondhand smoke. A number also offer smoking cessation programs to help employees who smoke try to quit.
Employers adopting smoking policies must be aware of laws that affect the type of restrictions an employer can adopt.
This chapter examines the reasons for creating a smoking policy, types of smoking policies, and the laws an employer must be aware of before adopting one. Policy materials included in this chapter are as follows:
•Smoking Policy: Restrictive Policy; and
•Smoking Policy: Standard Policy.
Scope and Purpose
Many companies limit or prohibit smoking on the job to lower injury, illness, and mortality rates for smokers; health insurance claims; and maintenance and repair bills for equipment or furnishings damaged by smoke. Employers also implement smoking restrictions to protect employees from fire or other safety hazards and increase productivity.
Types of Policies
Employer policies to restrict smoking in the workplace include:
• allowing employees to smoke only during work breaks or lunch;
• staggering break times of smokers and nonsmokers;
• segregating smokers from nonsmokers—for example, using existing physical barriers or ventilation and air filtration devices to control smoke;
• restricting smoking to specific areas such as an employee lounge;
• allowing job transfers or other reasonable accommodations for smoke-sensitive employees;
• banning smoking anywhere on company premises; and
• establishing a policy to hire only nonsmokers.
Some of these policies might be required by certain states; others might be prohibited in some locations (see State Laws).
Some workplace smoking policies encourage and reinforce healthful behaviors. For example, a company can offer lower health insurance rates for

nonsmokers. Other organizations subsidize smoking-cessation programs or sponsor employee wellness programs.
Legal Pointers
A number of legal issues should be considered in developing a smoking policy and are discussed briefly below.
State Laws
Many states have laws that limit smoking in public places, including workplaces. For example, every state but Alabama has a law, regulation, or statue controlling smoking in public spaces and/or private settings.
State laws often require employers to adopt a smoking policy or take some action—for example, establish separate, designated smoking and nonsmoking areas—to protect nonsmoking employees from environmental tobacco smoke. But some states also prohibit employers from:
• requiring employees to abstain from using tobacco products outside the course of employment; or
• discriminating against job applicants or employees based on their off-duty use of tobacco products.
In states that do not have employment protections for smokers, employers generally can establish a policy to hire only nonsmokers. However, such a policy must:
• be communicated and applied equitably to all applicants and employees, as well as management;
• be uniformly enforced; and
• prohibit discrimination based on an individual's race, gender, national origin, religion, or age.
Nondiscrimination
As with all employment policies, an employer must ensure that its smoking policy is adopted and administered in a nondiscriminatory fashion and does not have an adverse impact on a protected class.
Labor Laws
Employers should check with union representatives before instituting any new smoking policy to avoid violating a collective bargaining agreement.
Americans with Disabilities Act
Nothing in the ADA prohibits employers from imposing reasonable restrictions on smoking in the workplace. Addiction to nicotine is not recognized as a protected disability under the act. However, employers might be required to reasonably accommodate nonsmokers if they have illnesses exacerbated by cigarette smoke. For example, if an employee is severely allergic to smoke, or has emphysema, this typically would constitute a disability under the act. Thus, if the individual requested an accommodation to perform his or her work, such as a move to another floor, a ventilator, or a barricade, this request should be granted.

Items an employer should consider in developing a smoking policy include:
• State laws.
Check applicable state laws to determine: (1) if your organization must develop a policy; (2) if so, what that policy must include; (3) whether you can discriminate against nonsmokers; and (4) how the policy should be communicated to employees and where it must be posted.
• Company goals.
What purpose(s) is the organization trying to achieve by enacting this policy? Articulating these goals from the outset will help ensure that the policy adopted meets these goals. Thus, an organization that is responding to nonsmokers' complaints of thick tobacco smoke in the air should have a different policy than a company concerned with cutting health insurance costs.
•
Employee involvement.
Communicate with employees to find out their needs and desires before implementing a smoking policy. Employees might already have informal rules which they follow, and the company might only need to formalize the actual practices that are currently being observed. In addition, including employees in the development of a policy can help mitigate any hard feelings on the part of smokers who might feel ostracized when the policy becomes effective.
• Enforcement provisions.
Create disciplinary procedures and present them clearly in the policy. Ensure that the procedures are enforced uniformly to avoid discrimination claims.
• Policy integration.
Some organizations' health and safety policies already regulate certain smoking behaviors on the premises—for example, restricting smoking to designated areas. Make sure that the new policy takes the company's existing policies into account.
• Total ban.
If you decide to ban smoking on the premises, give employees plenty of notice prior to making the policy effective.
• Employee programs.
Consider providing employees the opportunity to enroll in smoking-cessation clinics or other support groups, especially if your organization requires smokers to contribute additional monies toward their health insurance premiums.
• Job accommodations.
To avoid potential ADA claims by employees with a protected disability, employers permitting smoking on the premises should determine what type of special arrangements will be available for those employees who cannot, for health reasons, be exposed to cigarette smoke.
• Designated breaks.
Smokers faced with new restrictions, or the need to travel further to smoke can become less productive. Employers should consider instituting restrictions such as time limits on breaks, or limiting smoke breaks to designated rest breaks or lunch time.
This section includes two model smoking policies:
• Smoking Policy: Restrictive Policy—This model policy bans smoking anywhere on company property.
• Smoking Policy: Standard Policy—This model policy permits smoking on company property, but only in designated areas.

Smoking Policy: Restrictive Policy
EMPLOYER is committed to protecting the safety and welfare of its employees. To that end, EMPLOYER is declaring its premises to be a totally smoke-free environment. No smoking of any kind will be permitted in the buildings, lavatories, premises, or parking lots beginning FUTURE DATE.
EMPLOYER would like to help all interested employees quit smoking. Therefore, free smoking-cessation clinics will be made available to all employees beginning FUTURE
DATE.
Employees who want to smoke during work hours must leave company premises during designated breaks.
Failure to comply with this policy will result in disciplinary action, including fines, suspension, and possible termination.
Smoking Policy: Standard Policy
EMPLOYER is committed to providing its employees with a comfortable working environment. Due to the increasing evidence of the dangers of tobacco smoke,
EMPLOYER seeks to limit the usage of tobacco on its premises. Employees are strongly encouraged not to smoke.
EMPLOYER recognizes, however, that the decision to smoke is a personal one. While
EMPLOYER does not wish to interfere with that decision, it does want to protect those who have chosen not to smoke. Therefore, on these premises, smoking will now be restricted to specific areas, beginning FUTURE DATE.
All enclosed areas will be designated as SMOKING or NONSMOKING and signs will be posted accordingly. Employees can smoke only in designated smoking areas. No cigar or pipe smoking is allowed.
There is absolutely no smoking in lavatories, elevators, hallways, medical areas, or stairways. Smoking in the cafeteria will be allowed only in designated areas.
Employees sharing common work areas cannot smoke in these areas unless all employees agree that smoking is permissible. Employees can smoke in private offices only if their offices are in designated smoking areas.
The HR department will resolve any disputes between co-workers regarding the implementation of this policy. No adverse action will be taken against any employee for complaining about smoke in the workplace.
Any employee who fails to comply with this policy will be subject to disciplinary action, including written warnings, suspension, and possible termination for continued violations.