Is this the end of smoko? Malcolm Turnbull suggests bosses can tell employees not to smoke

Bosses are entitled to tell employees ‘I’m paying you to work not to smoke,’ the Prime Minister has said.

Speaking on 3AW this morning, Malcolm Turnbull joked that smoking breaks should be called ‘smulking breaks’ because they’re a mixture of smoking and skulking. 

He made the comments after a study claimed smoking reduces Australia’s Gross Domestic Product by $388billion over about 45 years.

Bosses are entitled to tell employees ‘I’m paying you to work not to smoke,’ the Prime Minister has said

This is because smokers die earlier, take more breaks and are absent more often, according to research by Monash University.  

In the wake of the study, Cancer Council Queensland CEO Chris McMillan has demanded smoking be banned at work.

‘Having a smoke-free workplace not only improves the health of those who smoke, but this will increase productivity, decrease absenteeism and protect employees from being exposed to second-hand smoke,’ she told The Courier Mail. 

Public Health Association CEO Terry Slevin said smoking is effectively already banned at work because most companies have made their offices smoke free.

He told 3AW he doesn’t want to see smokers banned from heading outside on a break because that is their choice. 

Smokers die earlier, take more breaks and are absent more often, according to research by Monash University

Smokers die earlier, take more breaks and are absent more often, according to research by Monash University

‘Ultimately we have been banning smoking in the workplace for a long time,’ he said.

‘Lots of organisations have gone smoke-free, most indoor workplaces have gone smoke free. The truth is we are going in the right direction.’  

Monash University scientists came up with the $388billion figure by calculating years of life lost, quality of life lost and productivity lost based on GDP generated per worker in 2016.

They then worked out how much smokers collectively cost the economy over the course of their working lives – around 45 years – in terms of reduced productivity.

The study did not take into account the productivity of tobacco companies which create jobs for thousands of people.

British American Tobacco alone has around 600 full-time employees in Australia, massively boosting GDP.

‘We’re getting quite good at quantifying the costs in terms of hospitalisations, but there’s evidence to suggest the indirect costs of smoking are very high, and in fact may be higher than the direct costs,’ lead researcher Dr Alice Owen said.  

There are currently around 2.5million smokers in Australia.

In 2016, the federal government raked in $10billion from excise revenue, customs revenue and estimated GST revenue in relation to tobacco products.

In 2016, the federal government raked in $10billion from excise revenue, customs revenue and estimated GST revenue in relation to tobacco products

In 2016, the federal government raked in $10billion from excise revenue, customs revenue and estimated GST revenue in relation to tobacco products



Read more at DailyMail.co.uk