Enacting A No-Smoking Policy

As more and more municipalities enact anti-smoking ordinances in bars, restaurants, and other public facilities, it's was only a matter of time before the event industry has had to step up and either enforce these ordinances, or enact it's own policy at the request of guests or local government. The event industry faces some unique conditions in this regard – we often deal with large numbers of guests, which makes consistent policy enforcement challenging. Many event venues, although technically theaters, are outdoors, which places them in a gray area in terms of a local ordinances' scope. Most significantly, our guests are usually paying customers on private land, which means they may feel that the “rules” regarding smoking in their municipality simply do not apply in this instance. Regardless of these challenges or their source, below are several thoughts regarding the enactment of your event's smoking policy that may prove helpful. Feel free to add your thoughts in the comments section below.

Signage is important, but not for the reasons you may think - How many of us remember the “Lethal Weapon” movies from the late 80's, wherein Mel Gibson's character defiantly lights a cigarette within plain sight of a no-smoking sign? How many times have you seen this exact same scenario within your own venue? Truth is, signs are a rather ineffective enforcer of policy. They're static, spartan, and given their ubiquitous placement, almost universally ignored. So why are they still vitally important to your event's smoking policy? Because they grant the appropriate amount of “authority” to any staff member who must personally intervene with a smoking guest. If an employee is simply able to refer a guest to a posted sign, there's no “gray area” in judgment that the guest can latch on to and argue with. Its not personal...they're simply enforcing venue policy. Especially if your event staff is young and inexperienced, policy signage of all types is a remarkably useful tool to ensure confident enforcement of the rules.

If possible, have a designated, well-marked smoking area – I would add, make sure that any area you set aside is moderately convenient for the guest to access, or at a minimum isn't horribly inaccessible. The reason for this is obvious...if a guest who smokes isn't horribly put out in having to relocate for a quick fix, they're much more likely to do so without employee intervention. Although smoking has thankfully diminished among the population as a whole, it is still a legal activity, and your guests who smoke are paying customers just like anyone else. There's no need to coddle them with luxurious accommodations. However, if we make the enjoyment of their evening excessively difficult, they're much less likely to return.

Enacting a smoke-free policy is a courtesy to our guests. Don't make the enforcement of the policy equally distracting – Depending upon the crowd density of your event, thorough enforcement of your smoking policy may prove to be a simple task, or a Sisyphean adventure. You've chosen to go smoke free at your event out of concern for your guest's enjoyment, which means that performing a flying tackle across three rows of seating to get at a patron lighting up is probably the wrong way to go about matters. If a smoking guest is difficult to access, your best response is to either wait until you're able to get the guest's attention discreetly, or are able to access them through other means. One method I recommend is the creation of “pass-down” cards to give to all of your employees. If a guest in an inaccessible seating area is smoking, the employee man pass down the row a simple card detailing the venues smoking policy and requesting that they put out their cigarette. This method of communication is much less obtrusive, and has the added benefit of communicating the policy to everyone who handles the card.

Make smoking policy enforcement everyone's business – Enforcement of an event's smoking policy has all too often fallen exclusively on the shoulders of the security staff. After all, a smoking guest is breaking the rules, and given security's job is to enforce said rules, they need to take ownership of this task, right? Conceptually, this is correct. However, I would argue that an event's smoking policy is more a customer service issue than a security issue, and thereby falls on the shoulders of every event employee, from maintenance workers, to concessions, to (yes) security staff. By entrusting all staff with the enforcement of this policy, you're guaranteeing virtually 100% coverage of your event grounds, and ensure a more comfortable event environment for all involved. One word of caution, however...make sure that the strength of enforcement of this policy is justifiable. There are much larger issues to attend to on your event, most of which are more pressing than someone lighting up a cigarette. Make sure your staff knows their priorities before they spend all evening calling out our nicotine-supported patrons.

Be creative! - You've decided to enact a no-smoking policy to create a more comfortable environment for your guests. No one says you can't make a bit of revenue off of the policy as well. Consider selling a sponsorship package to your venue's designated smoking area . Tobacco companies, smoking cessation products, even non profit groups such as the American Lung Association would jump at the chance to secure this tailor-made and captive audience. Likewise, you could sell signage within the area, even have sponsored disposable ashtrays and matchbooks. Your options are remarkably vast, and limited only by your philosophical viewpoint regarding smoking and your desire to profit off of your patrons addictions. Which, in all fairness, is the crux of the event industry as a whole.