How Some Big Businesses Handle Smoking
Let’s just say you are the owner of a global business. If you were handed a simple “fact sheet” on smoking and its related costs you would probably follow the example of a company like Dell Computers. In January of 2009 the company made it unacceptable to smoke anywhere on their domestic sites. This means that roughly 28,000 employees were told to quit, or at least do so during their workday.
Why? This particular company cited the known health risks associated with smoking and exposure to secondhand smoke and the subsequent reduction in health care costs. Are their arguments valid to big business? Well if you consider that in the United States alone more than five hundred billion dollars is lost each year to direct medical expenses and lost productivity, you could say that such a move is somewhat savvy.
Productivity losses in the United States hit around ninety-seven billion dollars each year just from premature deaths due to tobacco use. This doesn’t account for those who are mildly ill, or seriously ill, and who must miss days or weeks of work due to their tobacco use.
Big business is not alone in its battle to reduce the number of smokers, and governments around the world are beginning to bump up the rate of taxation on all tobacco products. For instance, in early 2009 the average rate of federal tax on a single pack of cigarettes in the United States was $1.01. Taiwan followed suit and doubled its rate of tax in 2009 from $.44 to $.88. In addition to federal or governmental tax boosts, many states and local areas also imposed restrictive financial penalties on tobacco products too.
This has caused a secondary effect that will probably reduce the number of smokers on a global basis as well. This is because the major cigarette brands have tried to recoup some of their financial losses and have begun to raise prices per carton and per pack too. Such dramatic cost increases will, hopefully, motivate more and more consumers to quit.
In addition to making it unacceptable to smoke on campus grounds, many big businesses, such as Dell, are also offering their employees entirely free access to smoking cessation programs. Such comprehensive treatment is usually successful, especially when it is supported in such a social setting as the workplace. Most quitters know that when they use cessation aids coupled with support programs they are far more likely to remain smoke-free. When it comes at no cost, the benefits are immeasurable.
