Dell Going Smoke-Free
In a move sure to piss a lot of people off (and conversely make others rejoice) Dell announced that they will make all of their U.S. campuses smoke-free by January 1, 2009. Citing decreased insurance costs and increased health benefits, a Dell representative stated that approximately 28,000 U.S. employees were notified of the policy change on Wednesday. In an effort to help employees kick the habit, Dell will provide employees with free smoking cessation programs and a discount in health insurance premiums for all non-smoking employees.
Depending on which side of the smoker fence you sit, this policy change is either a blessing or a curse. As more and more companies look for ways to cut insurance costs (under the guise of increased health benefits) employer smoking bans are becoming the standard. According to The Centers for Disease Control, cigarette smoking and second-hand smoke cost $92 billion in productivity losses annually.
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