BackSmokers may earn less than non-smokers
A study suggests that non-smokers were 30% more likely on average to be re-employed at one year compared with smokers, researchers said
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Los Angeles: Smokers, take note! Unemployed smokers may be less likely to get new jobs, and when they do, earn an average of $5 less an hour compared to non-smokers, a new US-based study has found.
Researchers from Stanford University examined differences in re-employment by smoking status in a 12-month period in a group of 251 unemployed job seekers in San Francisco.
Among the 251 participants (131 daily smokers and 120 non-smokers), 65.7% were men and they were an average age of 48, researchers said.
Study participants were 38.2% white, 35.9% black, 9.6% Hispanic, 7.2% Asian and 9.2% were multiracial or other race, they said.
Among the job seekers, 31.1% had a college degree and 39.4% were unstably housed. The smokers consumed an average of 13.5 cigarettes per day at baseline.
There were 217 participants who completed 12-month follow-up surveys. Researchers found that 60 of 108 non-smokers (55.6%) were re-employed compared with 29 of 109 smokers (26.6%).
The results suggest non-smokers were 30% more likely on average to be re-employed at one year compared with smokers, researchers said.
Non-smokers also earned more money. The hourly wage for smokers was about $5 less at an average of $15.10 per hour compared with $20.27 per hour for non-smokers.
At an average of 32 hours per week, this is a deficit of more than $8,300 annually, researchers said. The findings were published in the journal JAMA Internal Medicine.
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