Kaiser s Northern California Division is expected to soon follow suit. Kaiser's employees are encouraged to quit through smoking cessation classes and a toll-free smokers' hotline. Another large employer has adopted a policy based on corporate culture rather than local ordinances. Healthy employees just feel better and perform better. Home Depot, now hiring 10,000 new employees a month, banned smoking in its nationwide retail stores in 1990.
Employees say peer pressure is a powerful influence.
Whenever I felt nervous, I ate sunflower seeds or walked it off on the treadmill. Since then, DeVito has lost 30 pounds. Local smoking ordinances often cause workplaces to adopt smoking policies and increase the likelihood that employees will quit. As smoke-free policies are implemented, many large employers offer free smoking cessation classes. Some large employers are now expanding smoke-free areas to include outdoor grounds.