PLEASANTON, Calif. — Safeway will ban smoking at its headquarters here July 1 and will make regional offices in the U.S. and Canada smoke-free and tobacco-free by Sept. 1, the company said. The retailer also said it will offer a free, 12-week smoking cessation program for employees affected by the new policies. Safeway made the announcements during a summit hosted by the Commonwealth Club of California this week addressing smoking addiction in California. Also at the summit, the California Public Employees Retirement System said it will pressure health-plan providers to increase their coverage of cessation programs by 20% next year.

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