HELPING OUTCAST SMOKERS

SMOKING RESTRICTIONS: Despite increasing restrictions on smoking in many countries, between 20 and 25% of the western world’s population continues to smoke. SmokeSolution is a smoking cabin that helps smokers counteract collegial exclusion

They huddle in small groups, braced against the wind, rain and cold outside office buildings. In airports, you see them outside the departure lounges, staring fixedly at the clock while making the most of the last few minutes before departure. In manufacturing companies, you see them crowded into small, foul-smelling cages. They are the outcasts. The smokers.

“The principle has been established that nobody should be unwillingly exposed to tobacco smoke,” says Jon Krogh, technical director of the Danish company SmokeSolution. “Everyone has the right to clean air. But at the same time, we would like to help those who do smoke to avoid being ostracised by society, by providing them with the opportunity to enjoy their vice in comfortable conditions.”

Prohibition with negative effects on revenues

Like it or not, the fact is that on average, 25% of Europeans and 20% of Americans above the age of 13 smoke tobacco. And although restrictive legislation in recent years has brought about a reduction in the number of smokers, the prohibition has also had negative effects.

“Without touching on the moral issues, the fact remains that many businesses are experiencing negative effects from smoking restrictions,” says Martin Longhi, managing director of SmokeSolution. “Amusement arcades and casinos have seen their revenues halved. In airports with only few places where smoking is permitted, shops are seeing revenues tumble. In food companies, where staff is neither allowed to go outside nor smoke indoors, stress has risen and the ability to concentrate has fallen. And around a quarter of all people in employment see it as a burden to work, not a joy.”

“I see smoking cabins as a really good concept. It is unique that we smokers do not expose our surroundings to passive smoking risks, while at the same time everybody enjoys a tangibly better indoor climate.”

Kenneth Jahn Andersen, Sales Director, TDC Business

Generous non-smokers

Since Denmark introduced restrictions on smoking in August 2007, SmokeSolution has quadrupled its sales of smoking cabins. The company has also seen sales climb on a number of foreign markets.

“With smoking restrictions now in place in many countries, the sentiment among non-smokers has started to

change,” says Jon Krogh. “Many non-smokers now feel that they can be generous towards their smoking colleagues, and so the introduction of indoor smoking cabins has become an active part of staff care. Smokers should not be excluded, but given opportunities without affecting non-smokers.” Both directors point to active policies to restrict smoking as the most significant driver of the company’s growth, but they also believe that their well-designed and effective solution plays a major part.

“A smoking cabin must work well, and work reliably,” says Jon Krogh. “And the fact that the cabin is also a stylish and elegant element in a modern office layout is an additional benefit.”

http://www.smokesolution.dk

SmokeSolution’s smoking cabins are based on an air extraction rate of 600 m3 air per hour. The smoke-containing air is filtered both mechanically and with active carbon filters, after which the air is re-circulated. A service contract with the company ensures that filters and ashtrays are replaced every six months. The price of a cabin designed for up to six smokers at a time is about EUR 12,000.

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