Now with less tobacco

The company I work for just decided that, beginning January 1, all locations would be tobacco-free. This means no smoking anywhere on company property. The company has always encouraged smokers to smoke around the back of the building away from customers and vendors. A smoking shack was even erected to provide shelter for smokers in the case of wind or rain. But now, the smoking shack has been taken down and donated.

The company has encouraged smokers to take advantage of their Stop Smoking initiatives. Instead, smokers now walk off the property and light up. This amuses me to no end because I sit on the second floor near a big window. And every day, I see the smokers climb the hill and pace up and down the sidewalk out by the road puffing away. Sometimes there is one; sometimes it's a whole gang of smokers. What I find really funny is when a whole group of them congregate out by the company sign and stand around. Instead of keeping the smokers and their filthy habits out of sight to the public, they are loitering about in a thick cloud out by the corporate logo. It remains to be seen whether they will be allowed to do that. Soon I expect to see them darting across the busy street, like illegal immigrants crossing the border, cigarettes dangling from their lips and lighters in hand.