1. PROFESSIONAL RESOURCES
2. Healthcare Professionals
3. Employers
4. Health Departments

Cost of Employee Tobacco Use

Illinois average annual healthcare costs of tobacco use are an estimated $5.49 billion. Tobacco use costs Illinois another $5.27 billion in lost productivity.

Smoking Cost to Employers

Employees who smoke cost employers approximately $5,800 per smoker each year states a 2013 study by The Ohio State University. Costs include:

• Over $2,000 per smoker in excess medical expenditures
• Over $3,500 per smoker in lost productivity

Cessation Benefits

Employers save on healthcare costs and improve general health and wellness of employees when Quitline services are available in the workplace. The same responsive, personalized quit plans are developed as those for individual callers.

Making Referrals

Become a Quitline Referral Partner to get free material and help employees quit. Employers also can promote employee cessation by:

1. Providing a smoke-free worksite.
2. Offering cessation benefits in your health plan
   • Coverage for several forms of counseling (individual, group, telephone).
   • FDA-approved cessation medications.
   • Reducing roadblocks to cessation (minimizing co-pays and out-of-pocket costs).
   • Coverage cessation services for spouses and dependents.
3. Implementing workplace programs that encourage employees to quit.

Track Success

The Quitline will customize a report for an employer’s wellness program to track success that might include:

• Enrollment date
• Call summary
• Enrollee list
• Enrollee demographics
• Stage of program completion
• Self-reported outcomes
• Quit rates
• Program satisfaction survey results

To learn more, fill out the Quitline Referral Partner form or call 217-787-5864. Explore free material here and learning resources here.