Is that it then????

I got a call late last night from a friend who has just landed a new job so can't come out for a beer tonight - great news for him (he's benefitted from the reshuffle of the UK Cabinet to land a big job) but bad news for me!

Although I was looking forward to seeing him I was also quite excited to go to my local pub which is normally out of bounds for me because it is SO smokey.  Yep, if you live outside England you might have missed the fuss about the ban on smoking in public places that came in at the weekend.

We finally caught up with Scotland, Ireland and Wales on Sunday when it became illegal to smoke tobacco (and I presume anything else) outside your own home except in unenclosed spaces like parks.  And with the weather we've been having that must be a bit of a bummer if you're a slave to the demon weed! (I've been going mad trying to get in some time on the bike!)

It would be interesting to see if anyone has collated their experiences of telling employees that they can no longer visit the smoking room, puff away in the company trucks or light-up anywhere really?  As an ex-smoker I do remember the militancy that smokers can espouse (although I sense it turned into resignation in more recent years).

Are there lessons to be learnt about banning workers from participationg in an activity that is perfectly legal outside working hours?  I remember my days introducing alcohol bans in the rail industry and how tricky it got telling office staff that if we were preventing train drivers from drinking it was only fair that they should be included.  My lesson was that it's wise to keep the message as simple as possible otherwise you get bogged down in silly quibbles.

But overall, if you belived the press in the UK, it was going to represent the end of civilisation as we knew it...I've not noticed much of a fuss...

Liam

Comments

[Matt O'Neill]

as a smoker still, i welcome the near impossibility to smoke in public and work places.

sounds unusual, but it's a step in the right direction to persuading me to quit.

as for communicating it, i guess the worst that can be levelled against someone is 'shooting the messenger'.

M

[Sue]

Even my best friend has decided to give up - and she's smoked ever since I've known her (a long time!).

Is it true that smoking is still allowed in the house of commons though? If so I can't believe people haven't kicked up more of a fuss about it. Not exactly walking the talk, is it ...?

[Matt O'Neill]

yep, allowed in HOC. reason being 'it's a palace, therefore does not constitute a public building.'.

fyi, i remember speaking to the ceo of the british beer and pub association about a year ago. in the conversation, i asked how pubs would get around the ban. his response was that 'a public building must have in excess of 50% walls. if it doesn't, you can smoke.'. he was pointing towards a new industry where businesses are designing 'buildings' with sliding walls. interesting huh?

M

[Liam]

You see that's what I mean.

Introduce a rule prohibiting something and people invest massive energy arguing with the detail rather than getting over it!

I still wonder though how IC people cope generally with the challenge of telling people they can't do something at work that hittherto has been perfectly legal (and remains so in their own homes - opps that sounds like dressing up in fetish gear, but you know what I mean!).

Liam

[Geoff T]

Hi folks,

Being a smoker I have to admit that I quite like a smoke in a pub and living in NZ haven't been able to do that for a number of years. I did enjoy having a puff in the UK last year though....ah well.

I have a colleague who used to work for a tobacco company in NZ. He had to communicate a non-smoking policy there and faced a bit of an uphill struggle. You can't smoke but get back to work and make cigarettes so every one else can. Better him than me!

Cheers