What do you think about companies not hiring smokers?

[Chris B.]

I've seen this discussion on other forums and on Facebook multiple times. This image started the most recent one:



I have seen over the past 5 years many hospitals not hiring smokers for new employees. They can legally do this because smokers are not a protected class of people such as minorities, people with disabilities, pregnant women, etc....

There are also financial reasons for this. Many health insurance companies charge less for non smokers, so that saves the hospital money. Also, you don't have lost productivity due to smoke breaks. In addition to that, several long term studies have shown that non smokers take less sick days than smokers.

One study in Sweden basically said on average, smokers take one more week of sick time per year than non smokers. People who were former smokers took no more sick days than people who never smoked after they had quit smoking. Also the study in Sweden and another study said that smokers have lower than average work performance, possibly due to the smoke breaks.

Another study of US Navy personnel said:
"Compared with never-smokers, daily smokers at entry into the U.S. Navy had subsequent career outcomes consistently indicating poorer job performance (e.g., early attrition prior to serving a full-term enlistment, more likely to have a less-than-honorable discharge, more demotions and desertions, lower achieved pay-grade and less likely to re-enlist),"

Another study found that smokers not only take more sick days than non smokers, they also have higher medical costs than non smokers over their lifetime.

I'm sure someone will reply with an example like, "My grandmother worked up until the day she died at 91 years old and she started smoking when she was 5 and smoked until the day she died and she never missed a day of work." Yes there are exceptions and extremely rare cases to contradict everything, but those are the exception and not common.

So what do you think about hospitals and other companies not hiring smokers? What do you think about smokers being charged more for health insurance?

[jpalamar]

This is going to be good...

Companies should be not be able to NOT hire someone because they smoke. They should be allowed to say your not allowed to smoke before and durring the work day for the simple fact of the smells associated with it.

Insurance companies should surcharge you for smoking as it is associated with high heathcare costs(no different then car insurance surcharging for tickets, accidents, ect.). Same goes for people who are overweight.

[04BlueSRT4]

Originally Posted by jpalamar

This is going to be good...

Companies should be not be able to NOT hire someone because they smoke. They should be allowed to say your not allowed to smoke before and durring the work day for the simple fact of the smells associated with it.

Insurance companies should surcharge you for smoking as it is associated with high heathcare costs(no different then car insurance surcharging for tickets, accidents, ect.). Same goes for people who are overweight.

Agreed, very good points.

This is starting to sound the same as how Arizona is trying to pass a law saying that woman who are one Birth Control have to be using it for medical, "non-sexual" reasons or risk being fired.

[oneday]

I agree with jpalamer.

I control who is hired at my work and given the option of a non-smoker vs a smoker, the non-smoker will get the job every time. The only way I'd hire someone that smokes is if I was extremely desperate to fill a position--and that has never occurred. Besides the health care costs the affect of the odor on co-workers, the reduced productivity/increased agitation from smoke breaks/no-smoking-during-shift are not worth my aggravation.

[AWD GS]

Id rather not work for a place that would nit pick something like that. next thing you know their going to want to check your fb account too.

[BlackBulletTSi]

A believe a company should have a right to higher someone based off such thing as smoke for the health reasons alone. I know when I smoked I did call out more and I know the smell was annoying to those who didnt smoke. I quit smoking 16months this coming 20th and I can say I've been more productive and have felt so good since then. I called out 1 time since I've quit but that was due to major allergies and having trouble breathing. Agreed this should be a great convo.

[djb5118]

The productivity issue has always bugged me. In high school, I worked as a maintenance tech at a local independent living community (aka old folks home). There were other members of the department, and the housekeeping staff that were smokers. Actually, I would say I was a minority in that I did not smoke.

Many times throughout the day...at least 3-4 or more, I would witness them all sitting outside taking "smoke breaks" and shooting the ****. It would turn into a "let's kill time and bull****" meeting long after the cigarettes were finished. Man, that pissed me off. I was a non-smoker working my ass off while others were clearly slacking.

I used to half-joke with my boss all the time that I was going to buy huge stogies and sit out there for 45min-1hr daily on a "smoke break." Everyone else's breaks easily amounted to at least that much time throughout the day. Of course, he always told me that wasn't allowed, but I wonder why not?

Postscript: I don't believe that all smokers are slackers, though I did find that this particular group took advantage of their addiction.

[rocknrace03]

i agree with djb, when i worked at the tire chain store there were only 3 of us who did not smoke out of the 10 or so employees. when one person started smoking, it would almost attract the other smokers and turn into the "lets bs for 15 minutes after the cigarette goes out" after realizing this, my manager one of the 2 other non smokers started organizing "fresh air breaks" it was a good laugh. but anyways i would say that its not fair to not get hired over smoking. yet if you want to take a smoke break you should have to punch out. that way its fair when the payroll comes along

[FocusDude]

I used to smoke. Once I realized a job is something you needed I never let smoking interfere with my work, if anything in the warehouse smoking increased my productivity. I cant stand the smoking slacker, its unacceptable, and your not working with me unless you got some godly skills-

[01NightHawk]

To add to the "some smokers slack" thing, I used to work in the construction field. Whenever the supervisor and a bunch of others went on a "smoke break" - I would just stop working and go outside with them. Every time at every company I would get someone asking me "what do you think you're doing? you don't smoke, get back to work"


I would always reply "I don't need to be a smoker to take a smoke break, why should I work if you're not?" - never had an issue.

The health care thing is a good point as well...

[djb5118]

I also think this is a more than acceptable policy for hospitals. Generally, you would like to think of a hospital as a place that can help to promote good health/habits, not downgrade the quality of life. Not only are the employees damaging their bodies (counter productive to working in a hospital, imo), but they have the potential to impact those who may have some sort of very sensitive health condition (i.e. people on oxygen, lung conditions, etc).

[Scapegoat]

i think people that run companies should be able to run them, within reason, without people bitching

[cmr076]

There was an episode of Boston legal about this exact topic, very interesting, and as a smoker who gets tons of **** for my employer am interested to see how this pans out. I suppose at a hospital it makes more sense but in my line of wor I think there is a higher smoking rate, yet I a the only smoker (that I know of) in our company.

[Supraholic]

Originally Posted by cmr076

There was an episode of Boston legal about this exact topic, very interesting, and as a smoker who gets tons of **** for my employer am interested to see how this pans out. I suppose at a hospital it makes more sense but in my line of wor I think there is a higher smoking rate, yet I a the only smoker (that I know of) in our company.

Hey Dave, I thinking they're talking about smoking cigarettes, Not Tires! LOL *sarcasm*

[cmr076]

Originally Posted by Supraholic

Hey Dave, I thinking they're talking about smoking cigarettes, Not Tires! LOL *sarcasm*

Ah ok nvm then

::kidding::

All the lambos are awd remember ;)

[devildog214]

yeah sounds wrong, they should just limit cigarette breaks to lunches/brakes and before and after work and not whenever you need one because the people that dont smoke still have to work.

[Diablo2424]

Originally Posted by devildog214

yeah sounds wrong, they should just limit cigarette breaks to lunches/brakes and before and after work and not whenever you need one because the people that dont smoke still have to work.

That only reason I can't agree with this is that in my last job there were a few people smoked on my team (it was a call center), and I have never smoked. These people would take 15+ min breaks every hour or so to go outside and smoke/shoot the sh!t. However, if I went outside with them I'd get yelled at by my boss, "Why were you in "personal" and not taking calls the other day for 20 minutes?" I'd tell him I was outside getting some air, or sometimes I'd even say I was talking to someone who was outside having a smoke... then I'd get in trouble for taking that break and not working.. which is totally unfair that they get to spend at least an hour or more a week smoking (and not working) but I wasn't allowed to b/c I don't smoke.


So I can agree with smokers taking breaks more often than non-smokers... as for the productivity I believe it could be an issue, but can't say I've seen actual work productivity drop just because someone is a smoker. The thing about smoking compared to things like weight is that smoking is %100 a choice, not something you can't control. Not too mention it helps promote good health by keeping people from smoking.

Lastly, I can't stand that smell and when people in the hallway walk by me and they smell like smoke, or even worse, stale cigarette's I have to walk away.

[mcperson2k]

I disagree with not hiring people over it. I think smokers should be eligible for the job position, just told they can't smoke while they are on the clock, and they can't smoke on the business property.

When I was a little younger, and worked at Panera Bread. The GM was a real asshole! He let the smokers smoke 5-6 times a shift, no questions asked. When I asked him if I could step outside for a minute because I was stressing, he said no.

Since than I have started smoking and have a career... I smoke off and on... When I am not smoking, I still go outside with the peeps from work and talk with them. I think it depends on the work you do. Because at my job, I do a lot of video recording... 45min - 2 hour recordings every day, over and over. So I will go outside and smoke during a recording, so its less productive yeah, but I am not missing out on anything either.

[Diablo2424]

I can understand why a lot of people say they think smokers should be allowed to take the job's, just told not to do it too often/during work. But the issue there is that people will still do it at the office and take those breaks. Whether they are told they can or cannot, and I think that's why this company in particular is just taking it one step further.