Abstract
M.B.A.
The South African Minister of Health has, in terms of Section 2 of the South African
Tobacco Products Control Act, 1993 (Act No. 83 of 1993), as amended, declared the
public places specified in the Regulations as permissible smoking areas, subject to the
conditions also specified in the Regulations. "Swanepoel et al., (2000:597) argues that it is common knowledge today that smoking
causes health problems. These problems can basically be categorised into two groups:
The health implications for the employee who smokes; and
The health and other implications for non-smoking employees who become
passive smokers as a result of their colleagues' smoking habits.
Apart from the implications for the smoker, there are also major implications for the
non-smoking employees and for the organisation as a whole. It follows that, if
cigarette smoke is a health risk for the smoker, it must also be so for the non-smoker.
The breathed-out smoke contains the same harmful ingredients (such as carbon
monoxide and recognised carcinogens — in other words, chemicals that cause cancer)
to which the smoker is exposed. In addition, smoking often bothers non-smokers,
causing conflict, hostility, negative feelings, deteriorating interpersonal relations — all
of which may impact negatively on workforce morale and productivity. There is no
single approach and policy for all organisations. The general principles, however, are that a working party should be established, the issue should be raised, the workforce
should be consulted and the policy must then be formulated and implemented.
It is in the interest of good industrial relations to work out an agreed policy between
the company, employees and their representative trade unions (if any), taking into
account the interest of smokers and non-smokers, rather than merely imposing an
immediate and total ban.
The control of smoking in the workplace through a professional process of
formulating and implementing an appropriate non-smoking policy will enhance the
healthiness or wellness of both smoking and non-smoking employees". The aim of this research is to assess the perceptions of smoking as well as nonsmoking
employees of the said regulations of the Act and to assess if the targeted
companies adhered to the new Regulations. Employees of three different companies
in the Johannesburg in the Gauteng area in South Africa will be ask to complete
questionnaires regarding the New Smoking Regulations in South Africa.