Non-smokers in this Tokyo firm are getting an extra 6 days of paid leave

Now, there's more reason for smokers in Japan to put out their cigarettes.

A Tokyo-based online marketing company recently rolled out a new incentive for its non-smoking staff, Kyodo News reported.

They're getting an additional six days of paid leave in a year.

Piala Inc. CEO Takao Asuka introduced the allowance this September after a non-smoking employee complained that smoke breaks were causing problems in the company.

Non-smokers in the company were working harder while their colleagues were sneaking out of the 29th-floor office for a puff several times a day.

These smoke breaks, which took up to 15 minutes each, added up over time and resulted in lost productivity.

Besides giving staff fair treatment with this allowance, Takao said that he hopes to "encourage employees to quit smoking through incentives rather than penalties or coercion."

And it looks like it's working out so far.

Four people in Piala Inc have kicked the habit while 30 out of 120 staff have taken time off under the new system, company spokesman Hirotaka Matsushima told The Telegraph.

In preparation for Tokyo Olympics in 2020, Japan has increased its efforts to reduce the number of smokers and ban smoking in public areas.

If you need more reason to kick the habit, medical experts have found that a smoker's breathing and energy levels return to normal just three days after putting out the cigarette.

Long-term health benefits of smoking cessation include: the risk of heart attack is halved (one year), the risk of lung death is slashed by 30 to 50 per cent (10 years).

Trade that cancer stick for some fresh air (and extra holidays)? Sounds like a good deal to us.

minlee@sph.com.sg