Tobacco use significantly impacts the American workplace. It the leading cause of worker lost production time and affects the workplace through:
- Lost wages
- Health, life and property insurance costs and claims
- Absenteeism
- Worker's compensation payments
- Accidents and fires
- Cleaning and maintenance fees
- Illness and discomfort among nonsmokers
- Recruitment or retention when employees die or are disabled
The workplace is an ideal location to assist and support changes in employee health and safety behaviors. Effective strategies to protect employees from tobacco and secondhand smoke include:
- Employers spend an excess of $1,850 per smoking employees on medical expenses and $1,897 in lost productivity
- Businesses pay an average of $2,189 in worker's compensation costs for smokers compared to $176 for nonsmokers
- Smokers, on average, take 2 to 4 more sick days per year than nonsmokers
- Smoke and tobacco use tend to enhance the effect of chemical exposure in the workplace