Should Companies Offer Extra Days Off To Folks Who Don’t Smoke?

You know the old saying, "You'll catch more flies with honey than with vinegar?" Well, that's the thought behind one Japanese company's decision to offer employees who don't smoke almost an extra week off with pay.

According to various news sources, the marketing firm, Piala, noted that almost 1/3 of its employees were smokers. They wondered how they could not only get people to quit, but also make up for the time those employees were away from work to light up, vs. non-smoking employees.They crunched all the numbers, and figured smokers worked about a week or so less a year than those who didn't.

But instead of creating a penalty to punish smokers, Piala's CEO, Takao Asuka, told the Japan Times, he wanted to inspire his staff to give up the habit, through an incentive or reward. So he offered that amount of time, in days off, to the folks who didn't smoke.

What are your thoughts? Smokers, would you consider quitting for extra time off? Non-smokers, what do you think?