A majority of the municipal council has decided to drop the smoking ban, which has prohibited employees from smoking during working hours since 2022.
As of Friday, employees in Qeqqata Municipality were once again allowed to smoke during working hours. This is clear after a majority of the municipal council voted on Thursday to repeal the municipality’s smoking policy.
The resolution was adopted with 11 votes in favor, three against and one abstention.
Mayor: “A victory for tobacco”
And Mayor Malik Berthelsen – who himself helped introduce the smoking ban in 2022 – is disappointed by the decision.
– Yes, I honestly think we should call this a victory for tobacco in society. I’m not going to judge people’s choices, but it genuinely worries me how much power tobacco still has in this country.
Employees unhappy with smoking ban
Prior to the decision, the municipality had conducted an employee survey on the current smoking policy. 631 employees – corresponding to 57.3% of the municipality’s employees – participated in the survey via SurveyXact between May 7 and 28.
The survey showed that half of those surveyed use nicotine-containing products in their daily lives. Of these, 33% expressed that they were very dissatisfied with the smoking ban, while 20% were dissatisfied, 18% neutral, 11% satisfied and 18% very satisfied. Despite the survey results, the mayor maintains his concern.
– We know that many people get sick or die from it. That’s why I think it should be in everyone’s interest to reduce consumption – just like we do in many other countries. For us to then go the opposite way and relax the rules here at home is completely wrong, says Malik Berthelsen.
In the survey, 58% also responded that it should be up to the individual employee – not the workplace – to take responsibility for their nicotine consumption. A view that has now gained political support.