Smoking workers cost private employers $5,816 more

It's more those smoking breaks than healthcare costs that make smokers more expensive employees.

A new analysis by researchers at Ohio State University found that employees who smoke cost private employers $5,816 more a year than nonsmoking employees. Much of the cost, about $3,077, came in lost time from smoking breaks.

The study, published in the journal Tobacco Control in June, also found that smokers cost an extra $2,056 a year in healthcare expenses since they tend to develop more problems compared with nonsmokers.

The rest of the added expense, estimated at $683, came from missed days of work. The analysis found that smokers missed an average of two-and-a-half more work days than nonsmokers annually.

The findings add fuel to the ongoing debate over whether health insurers should be able to charge smokers higher premiums than they charge nonsmokers.

Under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, insurers can charge smokers up to 50% more than nonsmokers. But a number of states have opted to either reduce or eliminate this smoker surcharge. Opponents of the surcharge say the penalty could discourage smokers from buying insurance, and thus make it less likely they'll participate in smoking cessation programs. In addition, a higher percentage of lower-income Americans smoke, and the penalty could impose a heavy cost burden on them in trying to obtain coverage.

According to HHS, three states—Arkansas, Colorado and Kentucky—have reduced the allowable percentage surcharge, while six states and the District of Columbia have barred insurers from charging smokers more.

Figures from the CDC show smoking to be the most preventable cause of death and disease, responsible for close to half-a-million deaths each year.

Follow Steven Ross Johnson on Twitter: @MHSjohnson