98% of professionals in the ME prefer banning of smoking in workplace

Pressure is mounting on MiddleEast companies to ban smoking in the workplace, according to the latest survey by GulfTalent.com, the region's leading online recruitment portal.The survey found that an overwhelming 98% of professionals favour some form of smoking restriction in their workplace. Of the total respondents, who included both smokers and non-smokers, 54% preferred a complete ban on smoking inside office premises, while a further 44% believed that the workplace should be largely smoke-free, with smoking only permitted in certain designated areas. Only 2% of professionals surveyed were completely opposed to any form of smoking restriction. Currently around 10% of companies have no smoking restrictions in place, while a large number of companies who do have official smoking bans fail to enforce them fully - with many staff, including some senior managers, reportedly flouting the rules.According to GulfTalent.com, many human resource departments across the region have recently introduced smoking restrictions in their workplaces.Those with restrictions already in place are looking at ways to improve compliance by staff. Some HR managers interviewed favoured stronger anti-smoking legislation by their respective governments to assist them with internal enforcement of the policy within their organisations.GulfTalent.com's survey found that overall, 33% or one-third of Middle East professionals smoke. This varies significantly by country, with Egypt and Jordan topping the list at 38%, while Oman is the lowest, with only 20% of employees smoking.

Prevalence of smoking among professionals by country:

Egypt 38% Jordan 38% Saudi Arabia 36% Lebanon 36% UAE 32% Qatar 32% Bahrain 29% Kuwait 28% Oman 20% Source: GulfTalent.com On a nationality level, smoking is most prevalent among Arab professionals at 36%, followed by Western professionals at 28% and Asian professionals at 27%.In terms of gender, smoking is far more prevalent among men than women, with 36% of male professionals smoking compared to 18% of their female counterparts.On a corporate level, 55% of companies currently have a complete ban on indoor smoking, while 36% permit smoking in designated areas only. The penetration of smoking bans varies greatly across the region. Oman leads the anti-smoking drive, with 65% of companies having a complete smoking ban. Kuwait is the most smoker-friendly country with only 42% of firms banning smoking in the workplace. Source