Posted By NatashaL Hi I was wondering if anyone can point me in the right direction? I have been given the task on sourcing a smoking shelter for our workers as it is coming up for the winter months. Can anyone advise me as to what the specific requirements are for them? i.e. the enclosures etc? Thanks Natasha

Posted By Catman Hi Natasha Link I used when advising management http://www.south-ayrshir...alth/smokingexample2.asp This is a Scottish example and I am not sure if the guidelines are identical. Cheers TW

Posted By Catman Hi Natasha At a glance probably not. At least 50% of the permiter should be open which in simple terms means you can have at most a roof, rear and one side (or two half sides). The gaps at the bottom etc may reduce the closed area though and it may comply but I dont have time or enough dimension details to work it out. I am happy to be corrected though if somebody has the time to work it out. Why not ask Seton? Cheers TW

Posted By Catman Hi David That + the cost of installation + the wine drinkers use at night + the customers first perception of the business being a smoking shelter + the fact that the shelter required maintenance & cleaning = The management agreed with me that twould be better to become a no smoking site inside the fence, full stop. We then provided smoking cessation advice free of charge for the employees, during working hours. Well received by some, but there were teddies thrown from prams as well. I suspect lots of sites will come to the same conclusion when the time comes. I have no crystal ball as far as legislation goes, nor am I a smoking Nazi, just thought this was the responsible option. Cheers TW

Posted By Pete48 Natasha, we never know what trails we start when we make a post on this forum. When I read your title, it immediately took me back to days of yore. In those days I worked on a petrochem refinery that had "smoking huts" at strategic points so we could get a puff between work activity. No ventilation, small heaters for the winter and a means of ignition as we were prohibited from carrying same for obvious reasons. Chairs or oher materisla or objects were banned due to fire hazards! The smoke billowed out as you opened the door and I used to get through about 80 ciggies a day even while doing 12 hour shifts. Ah happy days! cough cough. Thanks for triggering that memory. (25 years non smoker now!) However, the reason for posting was just to say that I had not looked at this subject in detail before and found the earlier link to the Scottish site very useful. I ignored all the wonderful mathematics showing how to calculate 50% of whatever and looked at the pictures in the gallery section. They are great and give a clear picture of how to comply, North of the Border anyway. Well worth a look. As to the question posed about providing them. My initial thoughts are that as the law in Scotland does not place any duty to provide, then it seems likely that the same will apply in England. Thus the decision will be on cultural grounds and not H&S. People work safely outside so no particularly new or unknown problems re risks from that aspect, just a matter of whether a company wants to provide a facility or not. You could put it into a category alongside a creche or a gym.(although I agree that is an interesting juxtaposition) If you provide it, you assess and manage the risks it presents. One method of which is not to do it. I think most will take that option unless they have especial image concerns or large numbers of staff or regular visitors who smoke. ( a hospital a&e dept?)

Posted By David Bannister Chest infections in smokers - surely not!

Posted By Pete48 Hi Aidan, you raise a frightening aspect, I think it is getting a little off topic for me to take it further but want to do so. I have started a new thread and hope you will respond there.

Posted By Tony Brunskill I first should declare I am a smoker. As a business owner we have initiated a policy of no smoking on site. However we are a small business and this is easy to implement and enforce. However in larger sites it is my experience that banning smoking drives the practice underground. In addition it results in careless disposal of smoking materials as burning cigarettes are disposed of as the "manager" approaches. This in turn gives rise to a serious fire risk. Provide your shelters and think in risk terms not moral terms.