Occupational Health and Safety: Smoking Cessation Program

Running head: OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH AND SAFETY
Occupational health and safety
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OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH AND SAFETY
Table of Contents
Introduction......................................................................................................................................2
Details of the workplace..................................................................................................................2
Occupational health hazard and the associated risks.......................................................................3
Occupational health program...........................................................................................................4
Conclusion.......................................................................................................................................8
References........................................................................................................................................9

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OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH AND SAFETY
Introduction
Occupational health hazards are considered as the situation or source that has possibility
of causing harm to individuals in terms of ill-health or injury. An occupational health
management plan is required to eliminate chances of such hazards within the workplace with
defined goals and objectives. The idea is to protect the individuals at risk from adverse events
resulting in poor health conditions. The present report outlines an occupational health
management plan for an identified occupational hazard in one identified workplace which is
smoking. The report puts forward the details of the workplace identified. It further describes the
occupational health hazard and the associated risks at the workplace. The ethical and legal
requirements along with the need for change are explained. The next section of the report gives a
detailed account of the health program that addresses the concern. The desired outcomes and
goals of the program are outlined and the activities that would be involved are mentioned. The
process of monitoring of the occupational health management program and the tools to be used
for the evaluation of the program are also discussed.
Details of the workplace
XYZ is an accounting firm based in a suburb city in Australia. The workplace has 186
employees, 90% of which are male. While half of the workforce is aged 40 years and above, the
age of employees within this age varies greatly. Some of the employees come from a middle
class socio-economic background and the educational level of the employees is not high. The
qualifications possessed by the employees are not higher than post-graduation in the respected
disciplines. Most of the employees working in the company are experienced and have been
working for more than five years. The individuals are frequently exposed to smoking voluntarily

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OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH AND SAFETY
and involuntarily. On an average, employees who smoke are found to be smoking 10-12
cigarettes per day. Smoking has been denoted by the employees to be stress relieving approach in
the workplace.
Occupational health hazard and the associated risks
The key occupational health hazard identified in the workplace is smoking. Tobacco
smoke is a notable health hazard for smokers as well as non-smokers who are exposed to the
smoke at a regular basis at the workplace. Numerous authoritative agencies have undertaken
review of the scientific evidence regarding exposure to tobacco smoke and have come to the
conclusion that it is a prime health hazard. Tobacco smoke is a complex mixture of particles and
gases with almost 3800 different chemical compounds, out of 50 have proven to be carcinogenic
to animals and humans. In the selected workplace, voluntary and involuntary exposure to smoke
is due to the high smoking rate of the employees.
The risks associated with exposure to tobacco smoke have been well documented in
literature. The effect of tobacco smoke on the health of smokers and non-smokers alike is a
matter of great concern. The physiological changes and toxic effects of exposure to tobacco
smoke have pointed out by (Zhou et al., 2016). Eye irritation, nasal congestion, headache, sore
throat, cough, nausea, dizziness, loss of appetite and general annoyance are the key risks
associated with exposure to smoke. Further, health conditions are aggravated due to exposure to
smoke, such as heart disease, asthma, acute respiratory disease, hay fever and emphysema. In
addition, several studies have pointed out that individuals who are regularly exposed to smoke
are at an increased risk of developing lung cancer (Lee et al., 2017). Brief exposure to high
concentrations of tobacco smoke results in small but noteworthy lung function impairment.