Northwest Ohio Strategic Alliance for Tobacco Control

How To: Taking Facilities Tobacco-Free
It’s the trend of the future: tobacco-free facilities. And hospitals and health-related businesses are leading the way, banning the use of tobacco products not just inside buildings, but anywhere on the grounds (see article on St. Rita’s Medical Center).

“Initially, our interest was in treating tobacco dependence as another addiction, because about 85% of chemically dependent people in recovery use tobacco, compared to 20% of the general population,” explained Gretchen Clark Hammond, director of the Ohio Women’s Coalition Smoking Cessation & Prevention Initiative (OWCSC&PI), a program of Amethyst Inc.

“Much of what was developed for our guidebook was based on lessons learned from the Women’s Recovery Center. Before they went tobacco-free in January 2003, they had to gather and sort out all the information on their own,” she said.

Guidelines for a Tobacco-Free Agency is a step-by-step manual for going tobacco-free that “can be easily applied to any workplace setting. This is a guidebook for policy change, because organizational change should follow a plan,” Hammond said. The book is self?]published by the OWCSC&PI and funded by a grant from the Ohio Tobacco Prevention Foundation.

During her presentation to more than 100 health, business and education leaders at the annual meeting of the Northwest Ohio Strategic Alliance for Tobacco Control in April, Hammond outlined the process for workplace implementation. Steps include assessing the current situation, educating staff members, setting up a tobacco-free committee (which includes nonsmokers and smokers), establishing a timeline, assessing results and continuing support.

Along with a step-by-step action plan, the book touches on other issues such as addressing internal and external audiences, adding tobacco to existing drug-free policies and providing treatment options for employees trying to quit.

The book and Hammond’s training programs are available for free to interested agencies in Ohio. The tobacco-free segment is just one of 12 presentation topics she offers on tobacco dependence and smoking cessation and prevention. For more information, contact Gretchen Clark Hammond at 614-221-7260 or gclark@amethyst-inc.org.

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