Employers could be spending thousands of extra euro employing people who smoke, a new study suggests.

Previous research has found that employees who smoke can cost employers more money because of issues such as absenteeism related to smoking illnesses, however exact costs were unclear, so US scientists decided to look into this further.

They set out to calculate how much extra it cost for private employers to have smoking employees on the pay roll compared to non-smokers.

They analysed previous studies on this issue and then developed a cost estimation approach that worked out the approximate total costs of employing smokers. Issues examined included absenteeism, smoking breaks and healthcare costs.

The scientists found that smokers were costing their employers a lot more money than non-smokers in some areas. For example, low productivity among smokers due to excess absenteeism cost employers an average of $517 (€398) per employee per year. Smoking breaks meanwhile cost employers a massive $3,077 (€2,368) per employee per year.

"Employees who smoke impose significant excess costs on private employers. The results of this study may help inform employer decisions about tobacco-related policies," they said.

However, they emphasised that the costs imposed by tobacco use ‘are not simply financial'.

"It is not possible to put a price on the lost lives and the human suffering caused by smoking. The desire to help one's employees lead healthier and longer lives should provide an additional impetus for employers to work towards eliminating tobacco from the workplace," the team from Ohio State University added.

Details of these findings are published in the journal, Tobacco Control.