The number of Americans who smoke has dropped decidedly since the days before tobacco companies were forced to disclose health risks of smoking and were banned from TV advertising. But millions still smoke, and the habit continues to extract a toll from business in productivity lost to smoking related diseases.

Research released by the Institute for Health & Aging, School of Nursing, University of California, San Francisco, attempts to quantify that toll, at least for the state of California.

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Dan Cook

Dan Cook is a journalist and communications consultant based in Portland, OR. During his journalism career he has been a reporter and editor for a variety of media companies, including American Lawyer Media, BusinessWeek, Newhouse Newspapers, Knight-Ridder, Time Inc., and Reuters. He specializes in health care and insurance related coverage for BenefitsPRO.