No smoking - San Antonio Business Journal:

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What is becoming more common todayy is that they are not even allowefd tosmoke outside. The “N o Smoking” bans that have become prevalentt indoors have been slowly expanding in recent yeare to include outdoor areasas well. Gone are the “designatef smoking areas” in many places, forcinh desperate smokers to have to hike off campus and acroszs busy streets beforelighting up. The has been this way sincw June 2000. Tobacco use is not permitted anywhere in or aroundthe facilities, says Mike Charlton, assistant vice president for safety and risk managementf at the Health Science “We are a health science facilityt after all,” Charlton says of the smokingb ban.
“It goes hand-in-hanf with our core mission.” Charlton says they still have patientws who come to the facility who are not familiarr withthe policy, but employeez and staff have adapted to it long ago. “They have to walk off the properth if they want to he says. “That is just part of the When instituted its total smoking ban inMarcn 2004, management recognized that it would likely be a hardshi on some of their employees, since it is not that easy for someone to just walk off of the The San Antonio-based insurance giant has one of the largest corporatd complexes in the natioj with more than 5.3 million square feet of buildinf space on an enclosed 286-acre campus.
So it announcer the new policy a couple of months in advance and providedd special health benefits to employeeds wanting toquit smoking. USAA provides reimbursements to employeea for most types of smokingtcessation assistance, including counseling, nicotinw gum, patches and even acupuncture. “We are very open and liberaol with the kinds of things they can use to help them quit saysHelen Fulcher, directot of wellness and work life for USAA.
“W e will pay for prescriptions, smokinfg cessation classes or whateverthey “Smoking is highly addictive,” Fulcher “It takes the average smoker multiple tries using multiple resources to finallt quit — sometimes as many as 11 times.” The policu went into effect around the same time that the City of San Antonio was enforcing a new ordinancew banning smoking inside all Fulcher says there was some resistancw to the total ban at first, but it has since becom part of the corporate culture.
New employees are briefed on the policy during their interviesw process so that it does not come as a and visitors and contractors are greete by prominent signs around the premises announcinvthe policy. The total smoking ban at USAA was implementec as part ofa company-wide wellness program that went into placw at the same time. The progra m emphasizes four key messages: Fulcher says the wellness program will ultimatelhy save the company money onhealtgh expenses, but the primary reason for the total smokintg ban is to promote the healthb and well being of their employees.