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• Employers and Addiction Experts Come Together at Commonwealth Club to Take Action to Reduce Smoking: 

A summit hosted by the Commonwealth Club of California brought together addiction experts, the Director of the Centers for Disease Control as well as leaders from business and state government to address the continuing epidemic of smoking addiction in California.

Moderated by Dr. Nancy Snyderman, participants examined why, after 30 years of widespread efforts to end tobacco use, 4 million Californians still smoke. Each year, tobacco use claims the lives of more than 40,000 Californians. California taxpayers pay more than $15 billion annually to offset health care expenses and lost productivity for the state’s 4 million smokers. Addiction experts testified that quitting smoking is no walk in the park. As Dr. Snyderman states in her new book, Medical Myths That Can Kill You — And the 101 Truths That Will Save, Extend, and Improve Your Life, “many health experts now consider nicotine more addictive than heroin.”

“Prevention is the key to a more cost-effective health delivery system for all Californians. No area of prevention is more important than that of smoking cessation in creating a healthier California. I applaud the leadership demonstrated by Safeway, the Pacific Business Group on Health and the California Public Employees’ Retirement System for taking on this important issue and challenging others in the business community to join them,” stated Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger.

At the summit, Safeway Inc. announced that all of its corporate offices in California will become smoke free and tobacco free beginning July 1

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