The maker of Camel cigarettes to ban smoking in offices, elevators

Starting next year, employees at the second-largest tobacco company in the United States won't be able to smoke inside their offices, conference rooms, hallways, or elevators.

Reynolds American Inc. made the announcement on Wednesday, but all isn't lost for smokers; the new rule won't go into effect until an indoor smoking area is built. Lighting up inside cafeterias and fitness centers and on factory floors is already banned.

"We believe it's the right thing to do and the right time to do it because updating our tobacco use policies will better accommodate both non-smokers and smokers who work in and visit our facilities," spokesman David Howard told The Associated Press. "We're just better aligning our tobacco use policies with the realities of what you’re seeing in society today."

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About 18 percent of Reynolds' 5,200 employees smoke, which is in line with the smoking rate of U.S. adults.