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Some of the components you’ll want to consider including in your organization’s communication plan about its tobacco cessation program are:
The information below will help your workgroup create the foundation for a comprehensive communication program.
Statement of purpose
The statement of purpose is the foundation of your workplace tobacco cessation program; it acknowledges the problem, commits to supporting the workforce and expresses the core objectives of the program. Try to develop a statement that closely supports the company mission statement.
Here is an example of a statement of purpose:
[Your company] wants to safeguard the health and safety of its workforce. With nearly 23 percent of adults reporting that they smoke, tobacco use poses a significant risk to our employees, their family members and our communities. We will protect all our workers from the harmful effects of secondhand smoke. We will encourage smokers to quit and support their efforts as a workplace community.
Workforce demographic data
Your plan ought to acknowledge the unique demographics of your workforce as these factors can affect the types and methods of communication and activities with the workforce. Demographics to consider include:
- male/female ratio
- average age
- workplace diversity
- educational levels
- population type
- urban versus rural location
Program standards and measurement methods
Based upon your organization’s demographic and utilization data, you may want to establish program standards and measurement methods for evaluating the effectiveness of the program. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Office on Smoking and Health suggests monitoring the following in the short-term:
- changes in exposure to secondhand tobacco smoke in the work environment
- number of employees participating in tobacco cessation programs
- awareness of workplace tobacco policy
- employee attitudes toward tobacco policy and cessation activities
- improved employee morale
- less conflict between smokers and nonsmokers
- enhanced quality of work
- improved job satisfaction
In the long-term, you might measure:
- six-month and one-year quit rates
- effect of cessation activities on successful quitting
- changes in health risks for smokers and nonsmokers
- enhanced corporate image
- improved attitude toward health
- reduced absenteeism
- reduced health care costs
- lower accident rate
- decline in turnover
- fewer sick days
- improved productivity
At a minimum, the workgroup can monitor program participation or survey employees to determine the perception and impact of the tobacco cessation strategy.
Reporting the results of this evaluation can help maintain senior management support for the program.
Communication objectives
As part of the overall effort to reduce tobacco use and to provide information and activities to engage employees, you may consider communication objectives that:
- Avoid stigmatization of smokers—focus on the smoke and the addictive nature of nicotine, not the smoker.
- Influence tobacco users who have no desire to quit so that they consider the benefits of quitting.
- Provide support and assistance to those tobacco users who want to quit.
- Support former tobacco users in their efforts to avoid relapse and remain tobacco-free.
Key educational messages
To support these communication objectives, here are some key messages to include in your communications:
- Anyone can benefit from quitting tobacco use—regardless of age, tobacco use history, or whether he or she already has a tobacco-related disease(s).
- Quitting is difficult, but effective help is available.
- Plan for success—anticipate and plan for the challenges and slips you’ll face. Remember that quitting is a process.
Consistent and frequent communication will maximize the impact of the message. Keep in mind some key communication principles as you design your plan:
- Frequency – People need to hear messages several times in order to process them, and eventually adopt them. Therefore, consider embedding messages that relate to this tobacco cessation initiative in other communication campaigns that support a tobacco-free lifestyle such as exercise, stress management and weight management.
- Consistency – Try to keep the communication focused on supporting the key messages rather than introducing new concepts. Keep the language consistent.
- Know your audience – How can you best reach your diverse workforce? Do they prefer written or oral communications? Print or electronic? Live or video-based? What is the functional reading level of the employee population? Are there cultural issues or perspectives to consider? Ideally, a strategy is created for the general population and then specific tactics and activities are designed for supervisors and other targeted audiences.
- Consider context – What else is going on in the organization? Has the organization experienced stressful events in the recent past that might make the cessation initiative more difficult (for example, downsizing, merger or a traumatic incident impacting workers)? Or does a cessation initiative dovetail nicely with other company programs (for example, healthy lifestyles/healthy weight)? Make sure your message is communicated in the appropriate context.
- Try different approaches – Keep in mind that individuals retain 10 percent of what they read, 20 percent of what they hear, 30 percent of what they see, 50 percent of what they see and hear, 70 percent of what they talk over with others, and 80 percent of what they use and do in day-to-day life. Multidimensional interventions will likely have the best results.
- Make a long-term commitment – Repeat interventions will reinforce the commitment of the organization and the original prevention goals.
Special policy implementation considerations
Introducing a new or revised tobacco use policy in the workplace can be a challenging task. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Office on Smoking and Health offers some key principles that will increase the likelihood that your policy will be well received and successful:
- Focus on the smoke, not the smoker.
- Focus on health and safety regarding secondhand tobacco smoke, not individual rights.
- Obtain management commitment and support. This support can be made visible to employees through the use of paycheck stuffers, posters, newsletters and other company communication channels.
- Provide training for middle managers and supervisors on policy communication and enforcement.
- Provide real and visible opportunities for employee participation in policy planning and implementation.
- Educate the workplace community about the hazards of combining environmental tobacco smoke and materials used in work processes.
- Allow four to six months from the time of the announcement to implementation, depending on the size of the organization and the magnitude of the change from the old to the new policy. Employees who smoke regularly and are prevented from doing so will be in withdrawal in the workplace and will manifest symptoms immediately. They will need time to prepare and implement a personal tobacco cessation plan.
- To maximize motivation, plan to implement the policy in conjunction with national events such as the American Cancer Society’s Great American Smokeout in November or around New Year’s Day (when people are making New Year’s resolutions).
- Ensure that restrictions and enforcement are equitable across job categories.
- Offer tobacco cessation programs to all employees and their families before and after the policy change.
- Enforce the secondhand smoke policy just as any other policy would be. Provide training in enforcement for supervisors. Do not differentiate between smoking breaks and any other kind of breaks.
- Anticipate unintended effects—for example, the concentration of smoke in designated areas, need for extra cleaning crews for those areas, people smoking at the building entrance (consider the aesthetic effect for visitors) or just outside the property line, cigarette butts and trash in designated areas or at property line.
- Continue to provide tobacco cessation educational opportunities and programs after the policy has been implemented to support employees in their attempts to quit using tobacco and to prevent relapse.
Tactics
With this strong foundation of commitment, data, clear objectives and a communication strategy, you can now devise tactics that support achievement of your objectives. Please review “Low-cost Ideas,” “Tools” and “Sample Timeline” for specific program ideas and tools that can support your organization’s tobacco cessation initiative. |
