Smokers cost British companies more than £2bn ($3.2bn) last year, according to a study funded by the NHS and published on Friday.

In the first estimate of the direct cost to companies of staff who smoke, the London School of Economics said businesses lost £1.1bn from smoking-related illness absences, £914m from smoking breaks and £133m from fire damage. Indirect costs could be as high as a further £1.1bn.