News Release
07/01/2008
W.A. Drew Edmondson, Attorney General
AG's Office Goes Tobacco Free
A new tobacco policy at the Office of Attorney General requires employees and visitors alike to keep their butts off agency grounds - their cigarette butts that is.
July 1 marks the beginning of the agency’s tobacco-free campus policy and includes not only the office’s interior spaces, but the agency’s exterior property as well.
“Starting tody, there are no designated smoking areas on our campus,” Attorney General Drew Edmondson said. “Tobacco use, whether cigarettes or smokeless, will not be allowed on agency grounds at any time, including before and after business hours.”
The attorney general said agency employees were informed about one year ago that the office was moving toward a tobacco-free campus so tobacco users could begin cessation programs before the policy’s implementation date.
“As the state’s largest employer, the State of Oklahoma is leading the way in assisting its employees and their families in quitting tobacco by providing insurance coverage for smoking cessation medications and encouraging tobacco-free workplaces,” said Tracey Strader, Tobacco Settlement Endowment Trust executive director. “The Oklahoma Tobacco Helpline at 1-800-QUIT-NOW also provides a free tobacco cessation program available to all Oklahomans with a desire to quit smoking or using other tobacco products. Callers receive a series of telephone-based ‘coaching’ sessions with professional quit coaches, and starter kits of nicotine patches or gum. The combination of coaching and medications more than doubles the chances of a successful quit attempt.”
Edmondson hopes the tobacco-free policy will provide an incentive for employees to quit tobacco.
“The health risks are well documented, and we are encouraging our employees who use tobacco to take advantage of the cessation resources available,” Edmondson said. “I am proud of our efforts to establish the tobacco trust and hope the services the trust provides will prove useful to any of our employees who want to quit.”
“The list of tobacco-free properties among government agencies and private businesses is growing fast,” said Secretary of Health and State Health Commissioner Dr. Michael Crutcher. “The huge benefits and savings of promoting a healthy workforce are becoming clearer every day.”