Business includes employers, employees, human resource representatives, all worksite and business (large employer groups) and voluntary and non-profit agencies based or providing services in Florida.
Smoking cost Florida $19.6 billion a year in workplace productivity losses, premature deaths and direct healthcare expenditures. [1] Even though you might have already thought about tobacco policies in your business (such as smokefree workplaces or designated smoking areas) smoking also impacts your bottom line in other ways. The additional annual cost to employers due to lost productivity and medical expenses is roughly $3,400 per smoker [2]. More information on the cost to employers.
The good news is that 70% of smokers want to quit, and a comprehensive approach to treament is the most effective method for them to quit and stay quit. Below we outline simple, low to no-cost things businesses can do help their employees quit smoking for good. We also invite you to view these great examples of how other companies have provided tobacco dependency treatment which made their employees' healthier and improved the bottom line.
American Lung Association, Smoking Cessation: The Economic Benefits. September 14, 2010. www.lungusa.org/cessationbenefits
Based on 2002 dollars.CDC.http://www.cdc.gov/tobacco/quit_smoking/cessation/00_pdfs/Reimbursement BrochureFull.pdf.Accessed April 8, 2008.