The U.S. Surgeon General reports that cigarette smoking is harmful to your health, and advises that smoking cannot be part of a healthy lifestyle. No matter who you are, your life and health would improve if there were less smoking going on around you. For this reason, governments across the world have implemented incentive programs to help their employees and constituents break the addictive, destructive habit. To share their lessons and help your community become safe and smoke-free, I have compiled the following list of resources for you to consider.

• South Salt Lake, Utah’s “Wellness Program Overview” offers an example of how incentives can be used to achieve a smoke free-workplace. Notice that out of the possible 80 credits, of which employees need 60 to receive the insurance premium discount, tobacco use counts for 25 credits.
• For an example of a codified smoking ban, check out the “Smoking Ban Ordinance” from Tempe, Arizona.
• The City of Bloomington, Minnesota’s “Smoking Ban Notice” is a great code change notice in language appropriate for the institution of a smoking ban.
• The September 2011 PM article “Long Beach, CA Offers Free Nicotine Replacement Therapy to Residents” discusses how the city was able to create a multilingual smoking helpline for its residents.
• For information on the growing E-Cigarette trend, check out the responses to this user-generated discussion.
• A wonderful “In the Know” blog post from former intern Alexandra Iannolo, “Smokers Need Not Apply,” discusses how some municipalities are dealing with the potential risk of taking smokers on in the workforce.

I hope that these resources help you to spark change in your life and your community. If you have any other helpful ideas, please share them in the comments section below. If you need more healthful advice, please check out the health, wellness and smoking topic pages on the Knowledge Network.

Aloha,

James Davidson

ICMA's Knowledge Network Intern

jdavidson@icma.org