“The Mayo Clinic, Johnson & Johnson and others are joining forces to try to snuff out smoking in the workplace throughout the world,” the Wall Street Journal’s “Health Blog” writes, adding, “Their global smoke-free worksite challenge, announced today at the Clinton Global Initiative in New York, calls on employers to ban smoking at offices and facilities worldwide.” The blog notes, “Smoky offices seem like a thing of the past in much of the U.S. … But globally, only about 11 percent of people are protected by comprehensive national smoke-free laws, the WHO says.”

“Smokers miss eight to 10 more days of work a year than nonsmokers, costing companies millions of dollars a year in lost productivity and health care costs,” the blog writes, adding, “Smoke-free environments also protect employees from exposure to secondhand smoke.” “Other entities joining the effort include the American Cancer Society, the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids, and GBCHealth — a group of over 200 companies and nonprofit organizations involved in global health issues,” according to the blog (McKay, 9/21).