Smoke-free workplaces on rise in Japan as companies promote health

Instead of keeping the status quo for employees who want to spark up on the job, Japanese companies are getting creative in efforts to encourage smokers to kick the habit -- some introducing total cigarette bans or incentivizing employees to quit by giving extra paid holidays to nonsmokers.Indeed, more companies are not only changing their smoking areas into rest zones where workers can relax, but in some cases, companies are refusing to hire smokers outright.A room at the headquarters of Sompo Japan Nipponkoa Himawari Life Insurance Inc. in Tokyo was used as a smoking area until last year.…READ FULL ARTICLE