By Matthew Monks
“It's a healthy city, but it could be a lot healthier,” said Thomas R. Frieden, commissioner of the city Department of Health and Mental Hygiene. “Simple stuff can make a big difference.”New York City businesses lose billions each year because of sick employees. Many ailments – like those tied to smoking – are preventable, Frieden said, addressing a room of some 50 business and community officials in the Long Island City restaurant River's Edge. The average smoker spends 6 percent of his workday – or two weeks a year – smoking, the commissioner said. This ads up to an average of $330 in lost capital per person, costing the city an average $5 billion annual.”Smoking is bad for the bottom line,” Frieden said. Thus businesses should enforce smoke-free policies and develop programs to help their workers quit. “Tobacco continues to dwarf all other causes of death,” Frieden said. “It's very, very dangerous stuff. If someone invented it now, we'd regulate it.”Employers should also help their workers get 30 minute of exercise a day, which goes a long way toward preventing diabetes, lowering cholesterol and fighting heart disease, Frieden said. Offer subsidies for gym memberships, provide water and diet soda in the workplace and ensure that stairwells are well-lit and clear to encourage people to use them, Frieden said. The key to staying healthy, he said, is regular doctor visits. Blood pressure checks, up-to-date immunizations and cancer screenings are the simplest guides to good health, he said. Employers should ensure that workers are aware of all their benefits and make allowances for a flexible work schedule for time off to visit physicians, Frieden said. Reach Matt Monks at news@timesledger.com or 718-229-0300, Ext. 156.
