Smoking costs businesses £225.5 million

Smokers are costing North West employers £225.5 million every year according to the first ever study of the detailed cost of smoking to UK businesses published today.

The report, by the London School of Economics (LSE) on behalf of NHS Smokefree, has estimated that the staggering costs are dominated by illness absences for smokers and by smokers taking cigarette breaks.

At a time when businesses are looking more than ever at ways to reduce costs and increase productivity, the findings provide a compelling case for employers to help workers quit smoking.

Employers can ask for free support that is available from the NHS in the workplace, such as one-to-one or group support sessions with trained stop smoking advisers.

Drew Collins from NHS Stop Smoking Services said: “Smoking is bad for your health and bad for business. If employers want to save money and look after their workers’ health, they should get in touch with their local NHS Stop Smoking Service. We can come into workplaces and help people to stop smoking at no extra cost.”

The London School of Economics has created a new formula that shows employers the genuine cost they bear for smoking employees.

Professor Alistair McGuire, Head of Social Policy at LSE and lead academic for the report, said: “The formula reveals just how much of businesses’ bottom line is going up in smoke every year and how small changes, with a little help from the NHS, could result in major savings.

“Taking the formula and applying it nationally shows the current total estimate of employer direct costs is £2.1 billion per annum. This doesn’t even include the indirect costs to company image from employees smoking outside the premises, or to the dissatisfaction felt by non-smoking workers who perceive smoking colleagues to be shirking as they take smoke-breaks.”