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Tobacco Use In The Workplace

Most employees who smoke have never been given the ultimatum to either give up smoking or lose their job.   For employees at the Michigan based, health-care company, Weyco, that ultimatum became a reality, as four workers were terminated for refusing to take a required nicotine test (Parekh, 2005).   Kalamazoo community college in Kalamazoo MI is following a similar approach by refusing to hire smokers on a full time basis.   Any smoker who does not live or work in Michigan that feels that they have nothing to worry about may be sadly mistaken.   Already attempting to follow suit is the Montgomery County, PA commissioner board chairperson, James Matthews.   Mr. Matthews has issued a proposal to prevent employers from hiring if they smoke.   The only exceptions to this proposal are those applying for hard to fill positions or veterans returning from overseas (Parekh)
Neither Michigan no Pennsylvania has laws barring smoker discrimination.   If Mr. Matthew’s proposal gets the support it needs, it is only a matter of time before other counties, cities, and states make similar proposals (Parekh, 2005).
There are two primary motives to this new policy of terminating and/or refusing to hire smokers.   The first motive is to reduce company healthcare costs, and the second is to reduce the number of non-smoking employees to second hand smoke (Parekh, 2005).
According to a study by the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), smokers account for over $75 billion of health care costs in the U.S.   Smokers also account for $82 billion of lost work productivity every year (Lacy, 2005).   Smoking is the number one killer in America; it is responsible of approximately 438,000 deaths a year (Lacy).   Smoking kills more people than alcohol, auto accidents, suicide, AIDS, murder, and illicit drugs combined.   Besides smokers, cigarettes also kill 53,000 non-smokers per year (Lacy).   According to the CDC, non –smokers in the work place are 34% more likely to suffer a smoking related illness due to...