Workers who smoke could be costing their employers more than £100 a week in lost productivity, according to new research from Guy's Hospital and York University. The team of researchers studied 200 companies and found that the cost of workplace smoking could be as much as £10m a day, or £3.7bn a year. Firms are also footing a £40m bill for fire damage caused by discarded cigarettes.

The issue of legitimate smoking breaks is a thorny one for all employers. According to the research, this is where the biggest losses are incurred - on average adding up to 30 minutes per day. Previous research showed that smokers spend more than three working weeks a year on cigarette breaks.Organisations with no-smoking policies do not escape however, as it is estimated that employees who slip outside to smoke cost some £800m a year in lost working time.

In May we reported on the case of Tower Hamlets, who took the decision to make employees who smoke work an extra half hour each day to make up for the time lost on 'cigarette breaks'. The policy is due to come into effect from 1 October.

Employers should not be too quick to judge smokers, however, as the latest research does also note the positive effects of smoking - namely the reduction in stress and an increase in productivity among workers who smoke.

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