Reducing the Burden of Smoking on Employee Health and Productivity
The human and financial costs associated with tobacco use are enormous. In addition to the physical and emotional distress brought on by tobacco-related diseases and death, tobacco use exacts a high price from employers with greater costs for employee healthcare, life insurance, increased absenteeism and loss of productivity.
Smoking Costs Lives, Time and Money
- Since the 1960s, research has linked more than 50 painful and costly diseases and conditions to smoking and it is estimated that 10% of smokers, or approx. 8.6 million people, are currently living with one or more of these smoking-related illnesses. In addition, the 2010 Surgeon General's report describes in detail the ways tobacco smoke damages every organ in the body and causes disease and death.
- A significant amount of productivity time is lost at work due to smoking breaks, employee illness caused by smoking, and smokers are also more likely to suffer a disability.
- Female smokers incur $17,500 more in lifetime medical expenses and miss an average of two more days of work than nonsmoking females.
- Male smokers incur $15,800 more in lifetime medical expenses and miss an average of four more days of work than nonsmoking males.
- On average, direct medical expenses and lost productivity resulting from premature death for people with smoking-related diseases cost a staggering $157 billion annually or $3,856 per smoker per year.
- Additional costs to the economy include those related to permanent or temporary disability, absenteeism, or decreased productivity among living employees who smoke.
- Other business-related costs of smoking include workers compensation claims and occupational health awards, indoor air pollution, accidents, fire, cleaning and maintenance.
Cost Benefits of Tobacco Use Policy and Cessation programs According to the Centers for Disease Control, in 2010 the overall prevalence of tobacco use was about 18.4% of the total population; in Pennsylvania, the rate is 21.3%. CDC estimates businesses spend $3,856 per smoker per year in direct medical costs and lost productivity. To estimate the yearly cost to business owners of employees who are smokers, multiply the number of employees x 0.184 x $3,856 per year. In Pennsylvania, a business with 75 employees at the 21.3% smoking rate will cost the owner $61,600 per year more. Employers can reduce this economic impact by creating a tobacco free business campus, enforcing the policy, and making tobacco treatment a part of their health plan employee coverage. In fact, treatment provides more return on investment than any other adult treatment or prevention benefit.
The minor cost of covering tobacco treatment seems insignificant when compared to the major financial burden that tobacco use places on businesses. As health care costs due to tobacco-related illnesses increase, they erode employer profit, which in turn creates a cycle of diminished health care coverage, salaries and other benefits for employees. Comprehensive tobacco cessation benefits cost between $1.20 and $4.80 per employee per year, in contrast to the annual cost of tobacco use of $3,856 per smoker.
Tobacco treatment benefits are more cost-effective than more commonly covered disease prevention services, such as treatment for hypertension and high cholesterol. Overall, cost expenditure to employers equalize at three years and benefits begin to exceed costs by five years, bringing in a return on investment of 5 to 1.
What Can/Should I Do?
Smoking is an addiction that often requires repeated attempts and professional assistance to overcome. Most successful interventions require medical attention, so including it as a covered health benefit is prudent, making it an investment that not only improves employee health but also reduces the direct and indirect costs associated with tobacco use. Health plan coverage of tobacco treatment services is regarded as the single most cost-effective health insurance benefit for adults and it is also considered the benefit with the most positive impact on health.
We’re Here to Help
Tobacco Free Northeast has services in the following counties of the Northeast Health District: Carbon, Lackawanna, Lehigh, Luzerne, Monroe, Northampton, Pike, Susquehanna, Wayne, and Wyoming Counties. We offer businesses technical assistance to establish a comprehensive tobacco campus policy with health plan tobacco treatment benefits. Please call us at: 1-866-974-QUIT (7848) for more information or to get started in reducing your business costs. You can also visit our website, www.tobaccofreene.com to learn more or access local treatment for your employees. Pennsylvania also offers free telephone counseling at the PA Free Quitline at: 1-800-Quit-Now.
Source: Center for Prevention and Health Services, Center for Disease Control and Prevention. The National Business Group on Health, Washington, DC: Reducing the Burden of Smoking on Employee Health and Productivity, Volume 1, Number 5, May 28, 2003.
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Public Health Service, Office of the Surgeon General, Rockville, MD: How Tobacco Smoke Causes Disease, A Report of the Surgeon General, 2010.
► Please send any comments or suggestions for this and future Newsletters to us here. Your input is valued and appreciated. Please feel free to distribute this Newsletter to others who may be interested. Tobacco Free Northeast PA at Burn Prevention Network is funded by a grant from the PA Department of Health Division of Tobacco Prevention and Control Program to manage tobacco programming in the 10 counties of the Northeast Health District which includes: Carbon, Lackawanna, Lehigh, Luzerne, Monroe, Northampton, Pike, Susquehanna, Wayne, and Wyoming. Tobacco programming in the District is comprised of teen prevention and advocacy, tobacco free policies and tobacco treatment programs. Please visit our website at www.tobaccofreene.com or call 1-866-974-QUIT (7848) for minformation. Tobacco Free Northeast PA does not discriminate with regard to race, color, religion, national origin, ancestry or place of birth, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, age, handicap or disability
