• Industry News

Smoking Workers Cost Employers Big Bucks

Published: 2010-08-08    Views:107 reads

 

Taipei, Aug. 2 (CNA) An employee who smokes four cigarettes per day during work hours costs his or her employers at least NT$60,000 (US$1,886) a year, according to Department of Health (DOH) estimates.

In an anti-smoking campaign, officials from the DOH Bureau of Health Promotion said employers should encourage their workers to stop smoking as it cuts into work time by about one hour per day, assuming a consumption rate of four cigarettes per person during work hours.

The bureau's statistics show that one in six employees -- 18 percent -- are smokers, while 14 percent are exposed to secondhand smoke in the workplace, the officials said.

Exposure to secondhand smoke, also called involuntary smoking or passive smoking, can cause lung cancer and breast cancer in nonsmoking adults and leukemia, lymphoma, and brain tumors in children, studies have found.

As part of its efforts to help workers to steer clear of the risks of smoking, the Bureau of Health Promotion invited some people who have kicked the habit to share their experiences at a news conference Monday.

Wang Yun-cheng, an executive from Taiwan Mobile, said he was addicted to cigarettes for more than 10 years and his many unsuccessful attempts to quit prompted his son to call him a liar.

Finally, Wang said, he joined a "quit-smoking" group program organized by his company and succeeded in kicking the habit, with encouragement from his co-workers and professional help from counselors.

He advised smokers who want to quit not to carry cigarettes or lighters and avoid places where people smoke.

Ma Chin-pao, 36, from the cellphone manufacturer HTC, said he quit smoking after 18 years by enrolling in a program sponsored by HTC.

"It was the beginning of a virtuous circle, because my father who had been smoking for six decades, followed my lead and quit as well, "he said.

According to the bureau's estimates, employers will benefit from helping their workers to stop smoking, as the cost of tobacco-cessation programs is much lower than the losses incurred as a result of people smoking during work hours.