Smokers cost employees more than $3000 each year through taking breaks, absenteeism and lowered productivity.
The study published in US journal Tobacco Control found that un-scheduled smoking breaks cost private employers more in lost time than a non-smoking employee.
In August, Swinburne University of Technology in Melbourne will become the first Victorian university to enforce a full non-smoking ban on campus.
Read more at Swinburne University of Technology