From: Kylee Jones, tobacco awareness coordinator, Healthy Communities/Columbus Regional Health
Columbus
Employers spend nearly $6,000 more every year on smoking employees than nonsmokers. A large business that has 100 smokers spends $600,000 in additional costs each year.
Cigarette smoking remains the largest cause of preventable disease, disability and death in the United States. About 20 percent of the nation’s adult workforce still smokes cigarettes, which not only threatens employees’ health and well-being, but also results in decreased productivity and increased absenteeism. Smokers experience more health problems and disabilities than those who have never smoked. For every death from smoking, another 32 smokers are currently living with a disease or disability caused by smoking. It takes smokers longer to recover and respond to treatments, and smokers are more likely to miss days of work.
Smoking hurts the U.S. economy. It costs more than $300 billion a year in direct medical care and lost productivity. Tobacco use also drives up the cost of health insurance premiums for tobacco users. Despite high insurance premiums, more than 1 million Hoosiers still smoke. In Indiana, smoking costs the Indiana economy $7.6 billion each year in higher health care costs and lower productivity.
Healthy Communities at Columbus Regional Health wants to provide support to community organizations and businesses to help decrease the smoking rate in Bartholomew County. Healthy Communities offers group tobacco cessation classes for adults 18 years and older. Our classes use the American Lung Association’s Freedom from Smoking curriculum, which is an evidence-based program. Each class session meets one night a week for eight weeks from 6 to 8 p.m. at Our Hospice of South Central Indiana’s Center, located at 2626 17th St. in Columbus. Our community program also offers FDA-approved cessation medications, nicotine replacement patches or gum.
The $35 cost covers this eight-week program, which includes the Freedom from Smoking workbook, CD and medication. Those wanting to enroll in a community class should register by calling 1-800-699-1019, or emailing [email protected].
If interested, we do offer additional training or onsite cessation resources for your employees. For more information, please call 812-375-3194.
