AREA BUSINESSES ARE CUTTING DOWN ON SMOKING IN THE WORKPLACE

The 38 employees of Southeast Missouri Bank, at 111 Broadview, resolved last week to turn over a new leaf.

On Friday, the business was presented with a plaque by the local branch of the American Stop Smoking Intervention Study, ASSIST, for choosing to make its workplace smoke-free. It's one of a number of businesses making the change.

"We decided to make the bank a smoke-free workplace for several reasons," said Percy Huston, president of the Southeast Missouri Bank.

"We hoped the decision will increase productivity of the employees," he said. "But I think the primary reason was we just had a concern about the health and welfare of individuals who were smoking and those who had to deal with the secondhand smoke."

Prior to the bank's decision to go smoke-free, smoking was permitted in a designated area of the building.

"There was excessive smoke in that one area," Huston said. "It created a situation where people tended to pull away from that area, making it less productive than other areas of the bank."

The bank is smoke-free inside and outside the building. Although the employees did not vote on the decision, Huston said a majority would have supported regardless. The bank even offered to pay for employees who sought tobacco-addiction treatment at the St. Francis Medical Center.

"We are getting real good response from our employees," said Huston. "They are real excited that someone has forced them to quit smoking, at work anyway."

Ericka Hendrickson, coordinator for the Cape Girardeau ASSIST program, said the bank's move is a step in the right direction.

"Since the (Environmental Protection Agency) has deemed secondhand smoke a Class A carcinogen, it really exposes businesses to lawsuits from non-smoking employees," she said. "But for most businesses, it's a question of the good health of their employees."

Each year, an estimated 10,000 Missourians die from tobacco-induced afflictions and thousands more suffer from diseases ranging from heart-disease to lung cancer.

Through the ASSIST project, the Missouri Department of Health, in partnership with the Missouri Division of the American Cancer Society, hopes to reduce tobacco use in this state from 26 percent to 15 percent.

Hendrickson got the project rolling in Cape Girardeau by sending out surveys to 267 area businesses, asking about their smoking policies. As of Friday, she had received 61 back.

"Of those that were returned, 54 percent said their businesses were smoke-free; 39 percent allowed smoking only in designated areas," she said. "Only 6 percent said they did not have a smoking policy at all."

The businesses which were smoke-free totaled 5,250 employees; those with designated smoking areas affected 1,836 people.

"I have been very encouraged by the results so far," said Hendrickson. "Mr. Huston's bank has gone smoke-free and many others are in the process of doing the same -- its a trend sweeping the entire country."

Hendrickson said that of the businesses who responded to the survey, several have asked for more information regarding the Clean Indoor Air Act and programs available for smoking employees should the business decide to go smoke-free.

"This community is fortunate in that it has two major hospitals right here that offer programs to help smokers kick the habit," she said. "I try and let business owners know that they don't have to worry about going smoke-free; they have the right to make that choice for themselves."

One area which concerns business leaders is the health care costs related to smoking employees -- and customers.

"A recent study by the Center for Disease Control showed that waitresses and bartenders are 50 percent more likely to contract lung cancer," said Hendrickson. "Businesses spend approximately $1,000 more per year on employees who smoke, in decreased productivity, lost wages due to sickness and health care costs -- not to mention the costs associated with lung cancer."

National coordinators expect the 5-year ASSIST intervention project to reach 91 million Americans across the country -- including 18 million smokers. They also hope that more than 4.5 million adults will quit smoking and 2 million adolescents will be prevented from becoming addicted.

Overall, it is expected that more than 1.2 million premature deaths will be averted, including 422,000 deaths from lung cancer.

"This is something everyone at our bank is committed to," said Huston. "We want to make our businesses a good place for our employees to work and for our patrons to visit."