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Smokers cost employers $5,816 more than non-smokers

The price of a carton of Kools just went up. Way up. But not for smokers. It's employers who are paying, primarily in time lost to cigarette breaks by smoking employees.

Smoking employees cost their employers an average of $5,816 more each year than do non-smoking workers. This figure comes from new research authored by Ohio State University researcher Micah Berman, whose team based its work on previous research that had not been considered strictly from a cost-per-employee standpoint. "This estimate should be taken as a general indicator of the extent of excess costs, not as a predictive point value," Berman said in his abstract for the study. "Employees who smoke impose significant excess costs on private employers. The results of this study may help inform employer decisions about tobacco-related policies."  Read More

Employers seek more control, better outcomes

Employers are getting smarter about holding down their health care costs and are taking steps to make sure they -- and their workers -- get the biggest bang for the buck.

That's the big take-away from an Aon Hewitt study that indicates employers expect to have greater control over the cost of health care coverage and will be demanding better outcomes from their insurance providers. 

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