Employers help employees kicking butts

Until recently many employers were not willing to help workers kick the smoking habit, even though it costs Americans $76 billion in extra medical care and $82 billion in lost productivity each year. Employers figured that any benefit from offering such help would be too far in the future to matter.

But that's changing as new research shows smoking cessation programs can pay off for businesses in as little as two years in the form of lower health care costs. And Medicare now covers quit-smoking counseling, prompting reluctant employers to re-evaluate.

So if you're looking to get the nicotine monkey off your back check first with your employees benefits office. Many companies may just now be changing their policies.

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