Tim Michels, Esq. IWIF

 When employees smoke, they are not the only ones who suffer the consequences  Increased medical costs, higher insurance rates, added maintenance expenses, lower productivity and high rates of absenteeism from smoking costs American businesses between $97 and $125 billion every year

 Visit healthcare professionals up to 6 times more often than non-smokers  Are admitted to the hospital almost twice as often as non-smokers  Average 1.4 additional days in the hospital per admission over non-smokers  Had about two times more lost production time per week than workers who never smoked

 Workers compensation costs for a smoker average $2,189 compared to only $176 for a non-smoker  Employees who take four 20 minute smoking breaks a day actually work one month less per year than workers who don’t take smoking breaks  200 min/week x52 weeks=10,400 minutes =173 hours

 Bones are nourished by blood much like the other organs and tissues in the body  Nutrients, minerals and oxygen area all supplied to the bones via the blood stream.  Smoking elevates the levels of nicotine in your blood and this causes the blood vessels to constrict  Nicotine constricts blood vessels approximately 25% of their normal diameters

 Cigarette smoking, which causes over 8.6 million illnesses annually in the US has been shown to have harmful effects on a variety of orthopedic conditions  Studies have shown that the numerous toxins contained in cigarette smoke can undermine fracture and ligament repair following injury and slow wound healing

 In addition, smokers have higher rates of hip fractures, fracture healing problems and bone infections  Smoking lengthens the amount of time for healing and thus often times delays a return to work  Smoking often leads to lost production time and increased insurance premiums

 Offering smoking cessation programs is the number one cost effective benefit employers can provide  If brief counseling and therapy, including over-the-counter cessation aids, were offered to all smokers, it could save $3 billion in medical costs annually in the United States

 Improvement in employee health  Lower absenteeism and increased productivity  Quicker Return to Work  Potential for lower insurance premiums  Employee support for non-smoking policies

 The fact that there is an obesity epidemic is the United States is evident everywhere  Movie theatre seats have grown from an average of 19 inches to 23 inches wide  Revolving doors from 6 feet to 8 feet  Supermarket aisles have expanded from 5 feet to 7 feet.

 Obesity related healthcare costs in the $8 billion range according to the American Journal of Health Promotion  According to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), obesity and associated health conditions, particularly diabetes are responsible for much of the increase in employee health costs

 Nationwide, the CDC estimates that as many as 24 million Americans are diabetic and 57 million more are pre-diabetic, meaning that without an alteration in lifestyle, sugar could elevate to diabetic levels  Obese workers with diabetes are less productive on the job and more susceptible to severe injury situations that result in higher insurance costs  Obesity has a significant impact on worker productivity because the more chronic medical conditions an employee has, the higher the probability of absenteeism

 Obesity has been found to contribute to approximately 55% of type 2 diabetes  Type 2 diabetes risk can be reduced in many cases by making changes in diet and increasing physical activity

 Nearly 6 W/C claims were filed per 100 workers of normal body mass index (BMI) compared with more than 11 claims filed per 100 of the heaviest workers  Medical and indemnity severity increase steadily with the injured worker’s BMI with costs of obese workers being more than double the average costs of workers of normal or recommended weight

 Claims: Morbidly obese workers filed 45 % more claims than non-obese workers  Lost workdays: Morbidly obese workers had 8 times the number of lost workdays vs. BMI’s in the normal range  Medical costs: Morbidly obese workers had 5.4 times higher medical costs  Indemnity costs: Morbidly obese workers had nearly eight times more indemnity costs

 Consider an employee who was bumped slightly by a laundry cart:  For a healthy worker, this simple act wouldn’t even raise a bruise  An obese, diabetic worker runs the risk with any injury he incurs, even the slightest abrasion potentially escalating into a serious injury which could even lead to amputation

 Diabetes has implications for acute and chronic wound healing  Delayed healing leads to an increased risk of infection  Wound infection leads to increased length of disability, increased seriousness of injury and financial hardships

 Institute a Wellness Program in the Workplace  Encourage use of the stairs  Make programs like Weight Watchers available at work  Experts from the local YMCA are available on- site to discuss a healthier lifestyle  Health screenings  Encourage employees to determine their BMI (Body mass index)

 An employer can reduce obesity in the workplace and reduce the risk of diabetes  Along with the obvious monetary benefit, companies with a wellness program will also see increased productivity, reduced absenteeism, better morale, less employee turnover and the overall feeling by employees that management cares about their well being