UPM to become a non-smoking workplace in Finland as of 1 January 2013

(UPM, Helsinki, 25 September 2012 at 14 EET) - UPM has started to prepare for a non-smoking future. Smoking will end in all UPM sites in Finland as of 1 January 2013. UPM’s frontrunners in this field are for example Lahti site in Finland and some of the UPM sites in the UK and France, where smoking ended some time ago. 

The non-smoking decision is based on UPM’s OHS promise to its employees: nobody needs to suffer from smoke in their workstation, vehicle or during commute. In order to support UPMers in their efforts to stop smoking, UPM’s occupational health team will organise a dedicated support, including e.g. free of charge medical support and peer support groups.

The decision applies to all UPM locations in Finland. The practical implementation and details are currently being discussed with local employee representatives. The smoking points will be removed from all UPM sites in Finland in the beginning of 2013 and smoking will only be allowed on employees’ own time.  The non-smoking rule applies to everybody working in UPM premises.

”The non-smoking decision is a continuation to our earlier work and actions to improve well-being at work. The decision has also a broad support from UPMers. Many employees want to stop smoking and now they have a good reason for it,” says Arto Lampinen, Head of UPM Finland’s Cooperation Advisory Board.

”Stopping smoking is never easy but it is absolutely the right decision to do. UPMers have now a great opportunity to stick to their decision, since the medical and peer group support will significantly increase the likelihood to succeed”, says Tero Kemppainen, Chief physician, UPM.

For more information, please contact:
Tero Kemppainen, Chief physician, UPM tel: +358 40 574 1772

UPM’s approximately 9 700 employees in Finland work in many different locations around the country, e.g. in group administration, businesses, production units and forest services. Workplace safety and employees’ well-being is a top priority in all operations. UPM has started a company-wide safety initiative ”Step change in safety 2012-2014”, aiming at reaching world-class safety performance. Read more at: www.upm.com

UPM, Corporate Communications
Media Desk, tel. +358 40 588 3284,
media@upm.com
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