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The crew meetings happen during company time and each one is run 12 times to ensure all workers from all shifts can attend. Health data is tracked throughout the year cessation data is gathered monthly and an employee needs assessment is performed every few years. Smoking rates at the mill have decreased to well below the provincial average from 26 percent in , to 13 percent in Other measurable improvements since the commitment to employee wellness at Irving Paper include a decrease in absentee rates over five years and an almost 50 percent decrease in the short-term disability claims over the same period.
This is the kind of concrete information the occupational health nurse uses to justify the lifestyle activities to management year after year. A variety of factors have influenced the achievements in the area of employee health and wellness, including cessation. Hardsell tactics are not used.
Some people have a genetic variant that decreases the amount of CYP2A6 in the body, which is thought to protect these individuals against nicotine addiction. Most people who quit smoking experience physical and psychological withdrawal symptoms. Capital District Health Authority in Halifax is comprised of 31 buildings in 14 sites including several hospitals. But this makes Hazelden a pioneer among rehab centers. As a smoking cessation aid, acupuncture can be helpful in managing smoking withdrawal symptoms. T he problem is that nothing about the step approach draws on modern science: not the character building, not the tough love, not even the standard day rehab stay. Henley, M.
Instead, employees are offered the facts around health issues and are told that support and information is available to them. Fun is an important element in some of the activities, for example, friendly team competitions are used to get people involved and challenged. Incentives such as prizes, certificates and posting the names of participants if they wish also promote a sense of fun and encourage participation.
All employees are offered the same unrestricted level of supports that accommodate any number of quit attempts. Household family members are also included as the health of the individual members influences the overall health of the family. Management and staff at this privately owned offshore support and subsea cablelaying business are taking steps to make a positive change in the health of all employees, including by reducing tobacco use.
There are a variety of diverse sites within the company including a corporate office and a warehouse within a gated compound in Dartmouth, and 16 sea-faring vessels. At peak business, with all ships working, the company employs about non-union employees. The smoking policies in the company vary between the three different types of sites, and the intention is to work towards a smoke-free workplace. Currently, smoking is allowed in the corporate office building in an enclosed, separately ventilated room. There are two company trucks, one of which is smoke-free.
In the warehouse, there is a designated smoking area, but it is not enclosed. Smoking is not allowed outside within the gated compound because of the types of materials stored on the property. On the ships, designating smoking areas is left to the individual captains, but in most cases, there is one indoor and one outdoor area.
When setting policies, Secunda faces the unique situation of having to consider that its ships' crews are on duty 24 hours a day for 30 days at a time. Many of the decisions made on board, from smoking policies to menu choices have a much greater impact on crew members than they would for regular landlubber employees who can leave work at the end of the day. Employee wellness has jumped to the top of the priority list at Secunda Marine due to the results of a pilot project it participated in with the Heart and Stroke Foundation of Nova Scotia. Along with two other firms, some of Secunda's employees took part in physical health testing that looked at areas such as weight, cholesterol levels, and smoking.
Employees were given a health score and areas of concern, such as risk factors for heart disease and cancer, were noted. The resulting snapshot of the Secunda workforce was a bit shocking, showing smoking rates well above the provincial average. The company then decided to carry out health testing for all its employees to get a full health assessment. Tobacco cessation was chosen as the priority issue that could have the greatest positive impact on employee health.
Other areas highlighted included nutrition especially in terms of the meals served on the ships and physical activity. A workplace health and wellness company has been hired to help Secunda carry out a wellness program.
A wellness committee has been set up with a membership that reflects the make-up of the company and while there is senior management representation, it is not management driven. Improving employee health has become so fundamentally important to the company that wellness indicators have been written into the yearly goals and objectives it is required to draft for its ISO certification.
Among the 10 objectives that typically include aims such as avoiding environmental spills and lost-time accidents, one directly relates to a decrease in employee tobacco use. The company fully acknowledges that smoking is a difficult addiction to break, and some of the employees have been with Secunda since it was established in the s, thus making change seem all the more daunting. The marine environment also poses the additional challenge of being more accepting of smoking than the general public. However, the company is percent firm in its commitment to helping its employees quit smoking.
To do this, Secunda, through its wellness committee, is going to work hard with the workplace health consultants it hired to ensure the necessary supports are in place. The company is also going to take advantage of the change of attitude taking place within the marine environment towards tobacco use, and the change in workforce as younger employees come on board. Section IV: Resources. Health Canada Smoking Cessation Resources. Other Health Canada Resources. Resources for Youth.
Provincial Quitlines. Newfoundland and Labrador residents New Brunswick and Nova Scotia residents Prince Edward Island residents Quebec residents Ontario residents Manitoba and Saskatchewan residents Alberta residents British Columbia residents Yukon residents Nunavut residents Northwest Territories residents National and Other Organizations.
For further information and resources on smoking cessation, please contact any of the following: Canadian Cancer Society Tel. Estimating the Cost of Smoking in Your Workplace. Checklist for Assessing Smoking Cessation Programs. Evaluation Tool. My age is 3.
Which of the following describes you best? I am an ex-smoker. I am a smoker who would like to quit. I am a smoker who does not want to quit. Are you aware of the smoking policy in our workplace? Do you know where smoking is permitted in our workplace? Do you know what cessation supports are available to employees? For smokers: Would you like to quit smoking? For ex-smokers: How long ago did you quit? How many times in the past year have you quit smoking for at least 24 hours? Have you used any cessation supports in your previous attempts to quit smoking?
Would you participate in smoking cessation assistance that was offered through our workplace?
What types of support and activities would you use to help you stop smoking or to help you stay smoke-free? Self-help information brochures, Web sites, etc. Telephone quit-line Contests and challenges Health fairs Lunch and learn sessions Peer support percent smoke-free policy in the workplace Other please explain What would stop you from participating in smoking cessation activities offered through our workplace?
For example, cost, time, family members or spouses not being able to participate, etc. Please explain. Formula 2 Cleaning time. Below is a chart comparing the various approaches by detailing the pros and cons associated with each. The gold standard for supporting smoking cessation in the workplace is to offer all three approaches and incorporate activities into a broader wellness initiative.
More flexible e. Sends a strong message of commitment and support from employer. Demonstrates employer's leadership. May provide additional motivation. Can be offered to spouses and family members. Easy to target hard-to-reach groups. Supports ex-smokers. Can provide follow-up and support. Can integrate cessation supports into existing workplace wellness initiatives. Can build on existing tobacco control policies. High costs, in terms of financial and human resources. Group programs may not suit all employees.
Extensive training may be required. Does not allow for anonymity. May not accommodate different levels of addiction and readiness to quit. There may be more and broader expertise and resources in the community.
Focussing on smokers in the workplace may stigmatize them and decrease success rates. Facilitated Working with outside agencies to deliver programs and activities off-site, and providing self-help materials Offers anonymity.
Recovery From Smoking - Second Edition: Quitting With the 12 Step Process - Revised Second Edition [Elizabeth Hanson Hoffman, Christopher Douglas. Recovery From Smoking: Quitting With the 12 Step Process - Revised Second Edition: Elizabeth Hanson -Hoffman, Christopher Douglas Hoffman L.S.W.
Makes use of external expertise, which means not "re-inventing the wheel" and ensures a level of expertise that may not exist within a workplace. Employees can select the options that work best for them. Some communities have a variety of options to choose from and many resources especially larger centres.