Why smoking is the number one preventable death

Breathing problems, heart attacks, cancer, and a handful of other problems can be prevented if you quit smoking. Smoking is considered the number on preventable death in America. If you want to quit smoking, you aren't alone. Almost half of all smokers will one day quit the habit. Within 20 minutes of your last cigarette, your body will start to recover from the harmful toxins you just breathed in. Your blood pressure and heart rate are elevated during the time when you are smoking. This is because the toxins in cigarette smoke starve the body of oxygen and the blood cells are unable to get the oxygen they need to function properly. Once you stop smoking, the carbon monoxide in your blood will decrease and your body can start to function properly.

Smoking is responsible for one in five deaths in the United States. This death can be prevented if the person would quit smoking. This person may not have ever smoked a day in their life but they died because they were exposed to second-hand smoke. Since smoking is responsible for about 467,000 deaths each year, employers can start to fight back.

Several employers have begun offering incentives to get their employees to quit smoking. Other employers are taking the other route and they are punishing their employees that smoke. They can punish them by charging them more money to keep their health insurance, since they are costing the company more money for the health insurance to start with.

Incentives are a great way to get your staff members to give up smoking. Since people will do just about anything for money, it won't be too hard to convince them to quit smoking. Some companies have their employees contribute money to a pool that will be divided out to all the people that actually quit smoking for good. The company will match the contributions of the staff members, causing the reward to be pretty high for the winners. Since the employee has money on the line, they will work harder at giving up smoking because they don't want to lose their hard-earned money. This is a wonderful way to motivate your employees to quit smoking.

Regular incentive programs are also effective to get your employees to quit smoking. The incentives can be cash prizes, time off work, or other attractive prizes. Cash rewards are always beneficial, even if they are only $25 or so. A lot of companies will pay their employees if they remain smoke-free. This amount may be minimal, but it will certainly motivate your staff members to love a smoke-free lifestyle.

Quitting smoking is no easy task. It takes motivation, determination, and focus on the part of the individual that is trying to quit. If you can afford to offer support group help to your employees that are trying to quit, do so. This will show them that you are willing to make an investment in their health, so they need to return this favor to the company.

If you have established a smoke-free company, make sure you keep it this way. You have the right to refuse to hire someone if they smoke because they will cost your company more money. This has become a popular policy with several employers that are trying to save money on healthcare expenses and other costs like sick leave.

Make sure your employees know what the punishment is if they are caught violating the smoke-free policy. If they sign a paper stating that they will not some as part of their commitment to good health, you have the right to suspend them if you catch them smoking.

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