We all know the facts behind smoking and the reason it kills blah blah blah. But this week Camel stopped employees from smoking in their own office they did this to “better accommodate for non-smokers” this got me thinking; look at it from a different perspective…

1. A smoker takes 2 weeks extra holiday per year in paid smoke breaks? Based on 2 x 10 Min breaks per day. 20min X 5 days = 100 min X 48 working weeks in the year /60 min in an hour which equals 80 hours or 2 weeks.
2. Smokers on average miss 6.16 days due to sickness compared to 3.86 days for non-smokers
3. Smokers have a poorer than average work performance and productivity.
4. A smoker is 18% more expensive to employ than a non-smoker

Companies have been taking drastic action as a result of this.

1. In 2005 Michigan based company Weyco gave employees 15 months to quit before initialising random Nicotine tests. If tested positive the employee was fired on the spot.
2. Macy’s started charging smoking employees an additional $35 a month for health coverage. To avoid this charge, employees were to attend a free quite smoking class which was then reviewed 6 monthly to ensure compliance.
3. Union Pacific and Scotts Miracle-Gro completely refuse to hire smokers.

But remember, when thinking about your smoking policy changing them could become a violation of an employee’s civil rights….Although no case has gone to court yet.
– Written by Deasha Waddup