Helping workers quit smoking boosts productivity
Workers who smoke can cost their employers thousands of dollars per year more than their non-smoking counterparts, new research has found.
The study found smoking to pose a substantial burden on employers through increased costs from lost productivity. The US researches say it would be in an employer’s best interest to support smoking cessation programs that facilitate quitting among employees.
“This highlights the need for support and services for quit attempters.”
The study, which took data from the 2013 US National Health and Wellness Survey, found current smokers incurred US$1,840 (A$2,371) more in indirect costs to the employer than those who quit more than 11 years earlier. Similarly, smokers cost US$1,560 ($A2,010) more than workers who quit between five to 10 years ago, and US$1,328 (A$1,711) more than those who quit four or fewer years ago.
This is not the first time that smokers and non-smokers in the workplace have been directly compared. Previous studies have found the risk of absenteeism in smokers to be 33 per cent higher than non-smokers, and 19 per cent higher than former smokers. However, researchers say 75 percent of the productivity loss relates to presenteeism and reduced performance.
“Current smokers exhibit worse health-related quality of life, physical inactivity, sleep impairment, pain, and inadequate consumption of fruits and vegetables compared with non-smokers.”
Then why aren’t smoking cessation programs more common in the modern workplace? One theory is that many employers are hesitant to provide smoking cessation interventions because they feel the benefits to them are too long term, and are unlikely to outpace staff turnover.
However, the researchers refute this notion, and say the indirect costs for former smokers are similar, regardless of how long they had been smoke-free. In fact, once smokers have weathered the initial drop in productivity when they are trying to quit, long term gains can be realised within months.
“There is the potential for long-term gain in productivity among people who have quit smoking successfully, even within several months.”
High taxes, public health campaigns and social approbium have seen smoking rates in Australia drop by nearly 10% in the 21st century, according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics.
“Just over one in seven (14.5 per cent) adults were smokers in 2014-15 compared with nearly one in four (23.8 per cent) in 1995,” notes Louise Gates, Director of Health at the ABS.
“In particular, rates of daily smoking have decreased considerably among younger adults aged 18 to 44. In 2014-15, 16.3 per cent of 18-44 year olds smoked daily compared with 28.2 per cent in 2001. This drop is due to people quitting and people not starting to smoke. In 2014-15, 60 per cent of younger adults had never smoked and 23 per cent were ex-smokers,” she said.
Two of every three deaths in current long-term smokers can be directly attributed to smoking. Smoking causes an estimated 20% of the nation’s cancer disease burden each year. The risk of dying increases with the number of cigarettes smoked.
Smoking just 10 per cigarettes per day doubles your risk of dying and smoking more than 25 cigarettes a day increases your risk of dying four-fold compared to those who have never smoked. Current smokers are estimated to die an average of 10 years earlier than non-smokers.
Tobacco smoke contains more than 7000 chemicals, over 70 of which are known to cause cancer. Inhaled smoke enters the lungs and then spreads through the body via blood and lymph systems. However there are both immediate and long-term health benefits once people quit, even they you already suffer from smoking-related health problems.
Chemicals in tobacco will also affect people who are exposed to cigarette smoke. Second-hand or passive smoking poses health risks to other adults which are similar to active smoking, and has also been associated with sudden infant death syndrome and asthma in children.
