Smokers are costing employers in the north west up to £225.5million every year according to a new study.
In the first ever study of the detailed cost of smoking to UK businesses, the London School of Economics (LSE) on behalf of NHS Smokefree, has estimated the staggering direct costs of smoking to UK businesses are up to £2.1 billion per annum.
In the north west, the £225.5m total cost of smoking is dominated by illness absences for smokers (estimated at 1.77 excess sickness days per smoker per year (taken as £122.8m) and by smokers taking cigarette breaks at work (taken as £102.7m). The north west ranks third of all regions in England, behind the south east and ahead of west midlands.
At a time when businesses in the north west are looking more than ever at ways to reduce costs and increase productivity, the findings provide a compelling case for employers to make use of the free support that is available from the NHS in the workplace, such as one-to-one or group support sessions with trained local NHS stop smoking advisers.
Welcoming the report, Robin Ireland, chief executive of Heart of Mersey said, ‘Smoking comes at a cost to both the health of the individual and the economic health of businesses. It is the single, most preventable cause of ill health.
Support for smokers to quit has never been greater. Heart of Mersey supports local NHS stop smoking services and advocates for tobacco control policies to reduce smoking prevalence both at work and around children and young people.’
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 arising 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.’
Dr Linda Bauld from the University of Bath and UK Centre for Tobacco Control Studies said, ‘Research has shown that offering stop smoking support in the workplace is an effective way to help smokers to quit. What works best is a combination of support from a trained adviser, either in groups or one to one, and access to stop smoking medication. This is exactly what NHS Stop Smoking Services can offer, and employers have an important role to play in helping their staff succeed at stopping smoking.’
michael, london uk around 2 years, 8 months ago