An employee taking four 10-minute smoke breaks a day is away from the job for more than one extra week per year than a nonsmoking employee.

Smokers are more likely than nonsmokers to be absent from their jobs. On average, current smokers are absent 2.74 more days per year than nonsmokers.

Employees who smoke generally cost employers more in workers’ compensation and health care. In Nebraska, the annual cost for smoking-related health care is $592 million.

Cigarette butts are the most littered item in the United States. They’re not only unsightly but toxic. Many people don’t want to walk through littered cigarette butts to enter your place of business.

Thirdhand smoke is the smoke that clings to the hair, skin and clothes of smokers as well as furniture, carpeting and walls. Nonsmoking adults may be at risk of tobacco-related health problems when they inhale, ingest or touch substances containing thirdhand smoke. Simply put, many nonsmoking employees and customers don’t want to be around others who smell of smoke.

Since 2009, indoor workplaces in Nebraska have been smoke-free. As a result, smokers go outside to smoke and expose others to secondhand smoke. Secondhand smoke is a major health risk. According to the U.S. Surgeon General, “There is no risk-free level of exposure to secondhand smoke; even brief exposure can be harmful.”