Instead of letting employees light up as usual, Japanese companies are getting creative in encouraging their smokers to kick the habit, with some even introducing total bans or extra paid holidays for nonsmokers.

Indeed, more companies are not only changing their smoking areas into rest zones where workers can relax, but also refusing to hire smokers outright.

A room at the headquarters of Sompo Japan Nipponkoa Himawari Life Insurance Inc. in Tokyo was used as a smoking area until last year. Now, with the walls refreshed with a white motif, there is a fresh feeling and it no longer carries the stale stench of cigarette butts.