If you want extra holidays for being non-smoker then go to Japan

Tokyo, November 30: Since a long time activists and opposition parties are fighting against increasing smoking in the nation. They want smoking to be banned in the public places.

 

Taking this into consideration a company in Japan has planned a creative approach to curb the smoking habits. The company named Piala Inc. offers six days extra leaves annually to those who quit smoking. Introduced in September, this new policy is meant to compensate for puffing-related breaks, which are said to consume about 15 minutes each.

"One of our non-smoking staff put a message in the company suggestion box earlier in the year saying that smoking breaks were causing problems." said Hirotaka Matsushima, a spokesman for the company. “Our CEO saw the comment and agreed, so we are giving nonsmokers some extra time off to compensate.” Matsushima added.

“I hope to encourage employees to quit smoking through incentives rather than penalties or coercion,” Piala Inc CEO Takao Asuka said.

 

At least 30 of the company’s 120 employees have already taken advantage of the perk and taken extra time off since the changes have been made. According to the company, the scheme has also encouraged at least four people to kick the habit.

The World Health Organisation reports that nearly 22 percent of Japanese adults smoke (the figure is higher among males and older generations).