Japan-based Nomura Holdings Inc. has told its staff not to smoke during working hours — even if they’re working from home. Sending out a memo to its employees, country’s biggest brokerage outlined the new policy and it will come into effect in October, spokesman Yoshitaka Otsu told Bloomberg. By December end, the company will close all smoking rooms managed by the Nomura Group.

These new rules will be based on mutual trust and don’t include a punitive clause, Otsu said. There is no guideline to monitor employees working remotely.

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According to company’s statement, Nomura wants to create a favourable working environment, prevent secondhand smoking and promote employee health.

According to a March poll by the National Cancer Center Japan, over two in 10 smokers said their cigarette consumption has increased while working from or staying at home. It is because partly there are no smoking restrictions at home.

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Nomura is seeking to reduce the smoking rate among its employees in Japan to 12% by 2025, compared with 20% in March 2020, according to its website. The brokerage has been providing financial aid to help workers quit since 2017, Otsu said.

The brokerage’s latest policy also strongly recommends that people keep away from its offices for 45 minutes after smoking at lunch time or breaks to prevent “third-hand smoking,” Otsu said.

In 2018, snacks manufacturer Calbee Inc. prohibited its employee from smoking during working hours. It said health of employees and their family was important for the company to grow.

In 2019, food producer Ajinomoto Co. also put in place a no-smoking-while-working policy and it also applied to people working remotely, a spokesman said.

In April 2020, SoftBank Group Corp.’s telecom unit introduced a similar rule to ensure employees’ health and protect customers from secondhand smoking, according to spokeswoman Rika Takahashi.