The adage is: Take away their ashtrays and watch your health insurance premiums drop. But is that really true?

What if folks are lighting up as soon as they’re off the clock?

Turns out it may still be one of the best moves your company can make.

New proof out of the Centers for Disease Control shows workplace smoking bans have a staggering impact on one of the costliest health problems out there: heart attacks.

The federal health watchdog conducted a three-year study of the city of Pueblo, CO, which banned smoking from indoor workplaces and public spaces.

The upshot? The number of heart attacks decreased by 27% 18 months after the smoking ban kicked in.

It’s a move that keeps on paying off: Pueblo experienced another drop in heart attack rates an additional 18 months after the ban began.

Considering that heart disease carries a price tag of over $101,000 per case, from initial screening to recovery from a bypass, this small step is well worth any grief you may get from smokers.