Fire at work.

[duFfstyLe]

So here is what happened.
A cig butt or cherry dropped between the concrete and brick outside the building. Started smoldering and then smoke came up inside a wall inside the building.
Fun for about 15 mins.
But I have a question for you guys, Should a work take away smoke breaks to those who have the addiction?
Let me know.

[shwiger]

they can make the breaks not smoke breaks but just breaks but they cannot stop a person from smoking or fire them directly because of it. however with this said i was a manager and there are ways to make people quit or find ways to fire them.

[Wobbly Goblin]

I started smoking cigarettes at age 15 and quit when I was 32. At that point I had been smoking 3 packs (60) a day for several years, but because I worked outside it had very little affect on my over-all production. We've all seen people that work in offices forced to stand outside to smoke. I "think" it's safe to say that the majority of those smokers take considerably more breaks then their non-smoking coworkers. Therefore it seems obvious that from a production stand points, non-smokers would be more valuable then smokers. That said, employers are mandated to provide x-number of breaks per day. So with regards to your question, it's my opinion that smokers should be held to the same number of breaks that non-smokers are. No more, no less.

[Mutiny]

IMO a workplace shouldn't offer smoke breaks. By law they are already required to give you x amount of time for a break. If you want to use that time alloted to you to smoke then go for it. The business doesn't get anything out of having a worker keep going outside to smoke, that time could be used for doing their job.

[Photofinishron]

Historically speaking, there were no smoke breaks as most places allowed smoking on the job. Back in the day, anyway. Then times change. Now no indoor smoking. If the business owns the land the business is based on,
therefore being private property it is subject to the rules of the owners. If they say no smoking on our property (Business land and or building), it's their right.

So what if you're working for a contractor at a job site not owned by the contractor. I think they would have legal right to say no smoking on the job site.

You have a break time. If you want to smoke I guess you'd have to get outside of the confines of the business or the job site to have a smoke.

Now to directly address your question:

Should a work take away smoke breaks to those who have the addiction?

Hey, they didn't force you into smoking. Not their problem if you're addicted. So yes they have the right, within their area of control, to say no smoking.

Just my $1.98 on the issue. (Inflation)

Ron

[duFfstyLe]

At this job, you receive 2 15 minute breaks. Use them as you want too. For smokers they get 2 7.5min breaks before lunch and 2 7.5 minute breaks after lunch. Non-smokers can do what they want too with the same time allotted. I didn't start smoking until I worked here. But even then it's just to get outside and get fresh air(insert Irony here). Everybody on this board has made very good points and yes I agree with them all. A smoker has less "rights" now then they did 30 years, hell 10 years ago. But I never paid any attention because I always requested the non-smoking section. So now it's funny how fast I found out an establishment is non-smoking when I ask for the smoking section. The business doesn't own the grounds or the building. But the owner could request us to not smoke on the grounds. I see that point too. If a company wants you gone, they will find a way that is not in violation of employee rights. Thank you all. Your good men.

[TreeTopFlyer]

Smoking is not a right. Your employer has the right to not allow you to smoke on their property. I've seen where companies would not hire smokers because of health insurance issues. My employer is considering not allowing employees to smoke in company vehicles. We already are not allowed to smoke inside ANY county building (I'm a county employee). I personally think that smokers infringe on my rights. If you go to our government center you are forced to walk thru a curtain of smoke lingering around all the entrances because there's 4 or 5 smokers puffing away there all the time. I never understood why someone would puff on a cigarette when you know the later consequences. My parent didn't know cigarettes were bad for you. That came to light in the early 60's. There's no good reason for anyone to smoke and there's no good reason at all for a smoker to be rude to me by exposing me to his/her second hand smoke. There's a quick read on your rights to smoke here.


PS- Florida Clean Air Act 1999 says we must- "prohibit tobacco smoking in enclosed indoor workplaces except in retail tobacco shops, designated smoking guest rooms in public lodging establishments, stand-alone bars, and private residences not used for to provide child care, adult care or health care."