Tobacco-free or smoke-free workplaces are good for health and good for business.

A tobacco-free workplace is one of the most effective and lasting approaches to reducing employee tobacco use and eliminating non-smoking employees' exposure to secondhand smoke. Tobacco-free workplaces save lives and save money by:

• Protecting the health of all workers;
• Supporting employees who are trying to quit tobacco;
• Reducing maintenance and health care insurance costs;
• Preventing employees from becoming new tobacco users; and
• Attracting nonsmokers to your work force.

Helping smokers quit goes along with the policy decision to make your workplace smoke-free. This will save lives and save the business money.

Tobacco-Free Worksite Policy

Restaurants and Bars in North Carolina have been smoke-free inside since 2010. Local government has the authority to make the following places smoke-free: government buildings; government grounds, including parks; and public places (places that invite or allow the public to enter). What are the policies in your community? For more information on advocating for local policy visit here.

North Carolina law allows any privately-owned worksite to have a smoke-free policy and many do, according to the 2016 NC Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System survey (BRFSS). The survey found 92.3 percent of North Carolina working adults said they were not exposed to secondhand smoke at work at all during the past week.

The American Nonsmokers' Rights Foundation website contains instructions on how to take your worksite smoke-free or tobacco-free. 

Here is a pdf file with model worksite policy language you can use.