Joseph DiBella is a managing director at an employee-benefits consulting firm who focuses on helping employers reduce healthcare costs. Approximately 19% of U.S. workers smoke tobacco, costing employers $278 billion annually in lost productivity and increased healthcare expenses. Smoking breaks account for nine missed work days per smoker each year, while smokers also miss 2.5 extra sick days than non-smokers. Employers pay an extra $2,056 in healthcare for each smoker.

1. Joseph DiBella

2.  Joseph DiBella is the managing director of Conner Strong & Buckelew, a nationwide
employee-benefits consulting firm. In his work, Joseph DiBella focuses on helping
employers reduce their health care costs. Articles he has written on issues such as smoking
cessation have been published and widely quoted in health-insurance-and-benefits-industry
publications.
In the United States, about 19 percent of workers smoke tobacco. These 28 million
individuals cost American employers $278 billion annually through lost productivity and
increased health care costs.
Lost productivity because of smoking breaks is a large part of this problem for employers.
Most workers who smoke take three to five smoking breaks in a day. Over the course of a
year, this amounts on average to nine full days of missed work.
Health-related absenteeism is another factor. On average, workers who smoke miss an
extra two and a half days of work for health reasons when compared to their nonsmoking
peers. In addition to these costs, employers absorb an extra $2,056 in smoking-related
health care expenditures for every employee who smokes. Nationwide, this adds up to
$59.4 billion in extra costs.