Cigarette break costs PLN 22.5 mln a day

According to estimates by employment agency Work Service, smoking habit among employees can cost Polish companies as much as PLN 22.5 million per day. The agency said that 28 percent of adult Poles are smokers and they smoke 15.6 cigarettes a day on average. This translates into two-three cigarette breaks during a work day. "This year, these costs are lower than our last year's estimates (which stood at PLN 33 million) due to a decreasing number of Poles addicted to nicotine. Nevertheless, the costs related to employing a smoker are still high. Going out for a smoke lowers employees' productivity," said Krzysztof Inglor, CEO of the company. Work Service claims that companies undertake efforts to combat the habit by introducing smoking bans in the workplace, carrying out anti-smoking campaigns or even lowering smokers' salaries.