This just crossed my mind today. Is the headquarters of Philip Morris (or any of the other big tobacco cos.) a no-smoking building or zone?
Obviously, some states (maybe all, I wouldn’t know) have laws that govern whether office buildings should be no-smoking zones, so this might make the question moot.
Is there any tobacco company that, not being governed by law, voluntarily enforces a no-smoking zone at its office premises?
If this goes beyond GQ territory, I might request a mod to move it for me, but let’s start with some factual information.
When Kraft was a division of Phillip Morris, there were cigarette machines and a smoking section in the cafeteria. Now that Kraft is under a separate holding company, no cigarette machines and no smoking, not even outside by the entrances.
I’ve worked for both PM and RJR. Both allowed me to smoke at my desk. At RJR, they even sent someone around every Friday to replace the batteries on all smokeless ashtrays. This was some years back, though. Not sure if the policy is the same now, but I’d bet not.
My wife works for PM here in Prague. Smoking is allowed, but people who do not smoke are provided with air-filters in their offices. I actually think it is quite fair of them.
A current colleague worked as a consultant for PM. She said that she was shocked when a couple of managers lit up cigarettes in the middle of a meeting in a conference room. She hated that assignment.