According to a survey conducted by recruitment agency TMP Worldwide, 71.2% of Australian employees feel that smokers abuse company time. With 24.5% of female and 12.2% of male respondents saying they smoke, the issue of abuse of company time is fostering significant resentment amongst co-workers and angst amongst management, John Banks of TMP Worldwide says. The research reveals while 70.6% of male and 55.8% of female respondents say their workplace has a smoking policy in place, only 59.1% of males and 48.2% of females say this policy is rigorously enforced. In addition to smoking breaks wasting company time, employees who smoke are associated with other costs to a company. "Businesses today are becoming desperate. Not only do smoke breaks during the day waste company time, but on average smokers are absent 50% more than nonsmokers. Costs for these absences include temporary replacements and lowered productivity and morale amongst employees who are on the job and must cope with absences," Banks says. "One only has to visualise the smoking ritual to realise the time lost by smokers. Add to that the inefficiency and errors caused by higher CO levels in smokers and lower attentiveness. The propensity for smokers to become disabled and retire early is almost six times greater than for nonsmokers," he says. To regain company productivity by encouraging and supporting staff to quit the habit is perhaps a suitable corporate strategy Banks suggests. "Research has shown that almost two thirds of smokers want to give up smoking, so perhaps companies should act responsibly and give employees the support and help they need when they want to give up smoking," he says.