The best practices for tobacco smoke fight in workplaces: Italian experience of INAIL , formerly ISPESL

Introduction
Smoking at work has caused a decrease in workplace productivity with economic loss due at absences for smoking-related diseases and at frequent smoke-breaks. Any medical assessment of inability to work for the smokers can be a problem for the Company for re-employment and a further increase of the costs for injuries, accidents, fires and the acquisition and training of other personnel. The internal policy of health promotion can offer to employees the opportunity to give up tobacco smoking.

Methods
The project "Smoke free workplace" is started with data collection on offered assistance to Companies wishing to implement an internal policy of tobacco smoke. The program provides assistance by the INAIL further ISPESL both for Company information campaign, both for the manner of involvement of workers. The employees can participate, during their working time, to individual and/or collective special courses aimed at helping them to quit tobacco smoke. A dedicated web-page hosted in the former ISPESL’s website (www.ispesl.it/tabagismo), freely accessible, where all topics related to tobacco smoke at the workplace are gathered together with the aim to offer to employers, safety technicians, responsible of prevention and protection services, workers’ representative, workers and occupational physician all needed information on how to improve workplace health conditions of both smokers and non-smokers. Different training courses have been held for safety technicians, employers and occupational physicians, focusing on specific interventions to manage tobacco smoke at the workplace. Information materials on damage from tobacco smoke and the benefits of not smoking were published such as leaflets and fact-sheets.

Results
Internal proposals to quit tobacco smoke can be accepted positively by smokers, meeting them at the time of willingness to change their habits than smoking.

Discussion
Information about the project and distribution and collection of the information materials and questionnaire "door to door" were strategic.