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Swiss school eyes longer holidays for non-smoking staff

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Swiss school eyes longer holidays for non-smoking staff
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Staff at a school in the canton of Basel Country who provide a positive role model by not smoking should receive an extra week's holiday, one member of staff has suggested.

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Positive examples are critical when it comes to getting teenagers interested in health issues, the head of social pedagogy department at the Schillingsrain Schulheim said in a submission to management.

The idea of offering non-smoking staff an extra five days’ holiday a year would reward non-smokers while giving tobacco-addicted staff an incentive to kick habit, the education expert said.

Management at the school which places a strong emphasis on healthy and sustainable living will look at proposal after the summer holidays, regional daily the Basler Zeitung reported.

Smokers who take four cigarette breaks a day can be away from their desks for an extra half an hour daily, the paper said. However, non-smokers also find plenty of ways to distract themselves including taking extra trips to the coffee machine or checking Facebook.

A union contacted by the Basler Zeitung said they had been contacted by companies looking at such a scheme and that firms set their own rules when it came to smoking breaks.

What do you think of a plan to give non-smokers more holidays? Tell us in the comments section below.

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