Certain county businesses will have to set up separate break-rooms for smokers or tell them to take their butts outside.
Starting next week, lighting up will no longer be permitted in break rooms used by smokers and nonsmokers alike.
“We actually enforce businesses’ smoke free policies,” Amy Moore, coordinator for tobacco prevention programs at Ingham County Health Department.
The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health found that second-hand smoke increases the risk of lung cancer and heart disease to people who are exposed in the workplace.
“The statewide group did a survey and about 85 percent of workers already work in smoke-free places,” Moore said.
“As long as their policy has been going well, there will be no problem.”
The Ingham County Board of Commissioners adopted the amendment to mandate break rooms in public and private work-sites be smoke free or separate from one another.
Smoking is prohibited in all enclosed public and private work sites within Ingham County, including rest rooms, lobbies, retail stores, public transportation, libraries, theater productions and sports arenas.
“We don’t let anyone smoke inside. It’s store policy,” said Shaun Luttrell, assistant manager of Jiffy Lube, 2700 E. Grand River Ave. “I’ve been here for about a year, and it’s always been like that.”
Luttrell is a smoker, but a new regulation won’t affect him much.
“It’s doesn’t matter to me, I always go outside.”
Some smokers feel separate break-rooms may be unnecessary.
“It sucks in the winter, but I always smoke outside,” advertising senior and smoker Tom Korzon said. “It’s a privilege to smoke inside.”
Korzon has been a smoker for more than five years and said he thinks the laws are going to get more harsh while cigarette taxes will get higher.
“There will always be some sort of regulation when it comes to tobacco,” he said.
The issue of two separate break-rooms is nothing new for employees of Meijer’s, 1350 W. Lake Lansing Road.
“We have smoking break room and a non break-room,” sales associate Sam Smith said. “We’ve always had one.”
One reason why Meijer’s keeps the two break rooms is to keep the smokers away from the public view.
“It makes us look unprofessional to send smokers out to the front of the store where everyone has to walk through the smoke, or see them puffing away,” Smith said.
Smith has been a smoker for about two years, but he doesn’t think many companies will change to a double break-room policy.
“I don’t know if other companies will change, it seems kind of unnecessary.”
Staff writer Kurt Ludke contributed to this report.
