Welcomed policy

It started with restaurants and then airlines and now it's buildings in neighbourhood that are advocating no smoking as a policy.

This has come as a relief for many non-smokers and children. Buildings are carefully conducting polls to find out their tenant's opinion before enforcing the non-smoking policy in their lifts, lobbies and corridors. Although they do have had some complaints from smokers, on the whole this policy is widely supported.

"I am a non smoker and can now move around freely between offices, without having to cover my nose with a hankie in order to avoid taking in the smoke of cigarettes from the corridors," said Carol who works in City Tower 1 in Dubai. "I have also noticed that these days I do not contract a cold that often," she added.

The City Tower 1 and 2 are a fine example of enforcing this policy of smoke free public areas, including corridors, lifts, rest rooms and stairwells. Tenants are free to create smoking areas for their staff within their own office space; otherwise, smokers are asked to use one of the cafes on the groundfloor or the outside courtyard area.

In adopting this policy there were three main considerations as per Nicola Wilson, the general manager of Deira Tower Estate.

The first one was environmental. Cleaner public areas and improved air quality is an important factor in modern buildings where a percentage of the air is re-circulated through the air-conditioning system.

Secondly, it was the health factor. There have been numerous studies on the harmful effects of secondary smoking, including allergies. Fresher air will reduce these.
The third was definitely safety. Cigarettes can cause fires.

There are other endeavours as well by this estate to contribute to the environment. For instance, there is a 100 per cent recycled plastic bench outside City Tower 1 back entrance and waste paper collection in both City Tower1 and 2. In their first month of operation, three quarters of a ton was sent for recycling.

"Everybody in the office puts waste paper and brochures that are not needed anymore in one place, and in the evening we put them all into one bag and leave it outside our office. One of the building's maintenance people collects them on a daily basis and sends them for recycling," explained Hema, a consultant in the building.