Public Servant Lifestyle

BMA Scotland calls for legislation to replace voluntary bans on smoking in UK workplaces.

The British Medical Association in Scotland (BMA Scotland) is calling for legislation to be introduced prohibit smoking in the workplace - to protect employees and reduce the number of tobacco related deaths.

In a response to the UK-wide consultation on Health and Safety in the Workplace by Health and Safety Commission the (HSC), the BMA said that the most important step to improve the health of employees would be to introduce legislation to protect employees from the harmful effects of second hand smoke in the workplace.

Passive smoke kills 30 people each year in Scotland from lung cancer alone and contributes to other long term conditions including heart disease and asthma. Restricting smoking in the workplace would protect non-smoking employees from the proven dangers of smoke and would also help those who smoke to cut down on the number they smoke, or even stop all together.

Second-Hand

The BMA response said: "Second-hand smoke in the workplace is linked to disability caused by respiratory conditions, especially adult asthma. The economic and health costs of smoking in the workplace are considerable: reduced productivity, higher maintenance and cleaning costs, higher risk of fire damage, accidents and explosions, and higher fire insurance premiums.

"A ban on smoking in the workplace would protect the health of workers and studies show that smoking bans at work not only reduce the danger of passive smoke to non-smokers but also reduces the overall tobacco consumption among those who continue to smoke. The introduction of smoke-free workplaces resulted in a 30% reduction in tobacco consumption in USA, Canada and Germany."

The BMA welcomes the HSC's recognition that "employers are motivated to change business practices to improve health and safety primarily to comply with legislation". The only way to ensure staff are protected would therefore be to introduce legislation that works.

Commenting on voluntary measures, Dr Bill O'Neill, Scottish Secretary of the BMA said: "For over 20 years, the UK has had a succession of voluntary agreements on smoking and not one has been successful in protecting the health of the public. In Finland, legislation achieved better results than the voluntary programme it replaced in terms of reducing smoking and nicotine concentrations in indoor air. By continuing to hide behind voluntary measures, the Government, the HSC and employers are failing to protect employees."

The BMA concluded by stating that it is inconceivable that the HSC should let any workplace continue to endanger the health of its staff by carcinogenic fumes and called for the HSC to provide details on the Approved Code of Practice on smoking in the workplace.

Worst Offender

The workplace is officially the worst offender for second hand smoke with three million people - and almost three in ten of all pregnant workers - regularly exposed to second-hand smoke throughout the UK at work.

People exposed to smoke are prone to illnesses and are therefore absent from work more regularly and in Scotland

The estimated cost of smoking related absence from work is £40 million per year

Companies are leaving themselves open to legal actions for their failure to prevent lasting damage to the health of their employees

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Dr O'Neill added: "The HSC should stop concentrating on voluntary measures, which do not work, and introduce robust legislation which does."

A recent (Dec 2003) ‘YouGov’ survey published in The Daily Telegraph revealed that 87% of those surveyed supported a ban in offices, 80% supported a ban in factories and 94% supported a ban in shops.

More information available in Work Environment