The study was conducted on 300 ticket clerks at a major U.S. airline.

Researchers found that employees who smoked called in sick 6.16 days a year, compared to 4.53 days on average for former smokers, and an average of 3.86 days for non-smokers.

In addition, the study revealed that smokers are less productive than their non-smoking colleagues, bringing in fewer sales for the company, taking longer to answer telephone calls, and spending more time away from their desks.

Experts said the study's findings should encourage employers to introduce workplace smoking cessation programs.

The study is published in September issue of the journal Tobacco Control.

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