Classification would pave the way to a total workplace ban, including pubs and bars
British trade unions are calling on the European Union (EU) to classify tobacco smoke as a hazardous substance.
The Trades Union Congress (TUC), a group that has campaigned against workplace smoking, wants the EU to take steps to ban smoking in all workplaces, according to a reporter on BusinessEurope.com.
Under EU law, the European Commission must investigate the affects of hazardous chemical agents on workers who are exposed to them as part of their jobs. The TUC has written to the commission asking it to classify tobacco smoke as hazardous, which could mean an end to smoking in all workplaces, including pubs and bars.
“Tobacco smoke is a killer and must be treated as such in the workplace,” said Brendan Barber, the general secretary for the TUC. “Making work smoke-free would save thousands of lives and do absolutely no harm to the economy.”
The Trades Union Congress (TUC), a group that has campaigned against workplace smoking, wants the EU to take steps to ban smoking in all workplaces, according to a reporter on BusinessEurope.com.
Under EU law, the European Commission must investigate the affects of hazardous chemical agents on workers who are exposed to them as part of their jobs. The TUC has written to the commission asking it to classify tobacco smoke as hazardous, which could mean an end to smoking in all workplaces, including pubs and bars.
“Tobacco smoke is a killer and must be treated as such in the workplace,” said Brendan Barber, the general secretary for the TUC. “Making work smoke-free would save thousands of lives and do absolutely no harm to the economy.”
