i hate that filthy, stinky, poisonous, 150billion chemical habit called smoking. i smoke two packs a day. u cant smoke anywhere in iowa. i get bitched at for smoking in my car at work. we have a smoking area, use it! "they r gonna get rid of smoking on the property if u guys dont follow the rules!". blah blah blah. kiss my black irish ass!

state law u cant smoke in a place of business. like a $1000 fine. we always smoked in the shop til a few yrs ago. i been back on day shift for a year now. i worked 2nd fo 18months before that. they still smoke in the shop. but.....http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KIiUqfxFttM

when my first grandchild was born i learned a great deal about 2nd and 3rd hand smoke from my daughter in law. u need to like air out and breathe the chemicals out of your lungs before u hold the baby. because u and your clothes r a toxic dump. i couldnt argue with her after i researched it. i didnt have a lung to stand on.

I don't think the employers, especially if they are in the medical field, are just considering "smell". Health insurance is extremely costly for employers and most don't have an "opt out" plan on their disability and health. Typically what happens is that the premiums go up for ALL employees when their our other employees at greater health risk. That doesn't just include smokers but smokers are much more susceptible to illness than a non-smoker.

I don't know any facts concerning the employers your sister is applying to so my comments are just my opinions. I base alot of that on the fact that we do employ people who smoke and the health insurance overall is 5 times higher because of it. My husbands partner pays 8 times the premium my husband does for life insurance and he has one fourth the coverage becaue he is a smoker.

I don't think it is as much about discriminating against the smoker as it is about the employer covering their ass when it comes to such high premiums. It is the insurance company that requires the information even prior to employment in some cases, as has been in ours.

You are always going to have an argument on both sides and each side have good reasons for whatever. It just depends on what side of the fence you are sitting on and whose best interest it is in. What we do to our own bodies should be our own business but when it effects others, it crosses the line. This is true for alot of things NOT just smoking.

You have to be in the situation to understand it and at the rate insurance premiums are rising, it is terrifying. Once Obamas health plan hits its peak in 2014 insurance companies private and otherwise have to accept an individual pre-existing conditions or not. However, there is no restriction of premiums and that will trickle down all the way to Medicare and ssdi. Sad but true....

Shelly most businesses are not allowed to ask if you have AIDS now granted if you do and they hire you the chances of getting on their health insurance are slim to none and perhaps that is what has to happen with smokers I dont know but to bar someone from employment because they participate in a LEGAL activity - to me that is just opening for huge ol day in court and personally I would rather have that go to court than those smokers that sue the tobacco companies

Are they "barring" them from employment? That would be the confusion. Just because they ask, doesnt mean it is to determine hire or not. It may be to determine insurability. In Indiana, you can let an employee go for ANY reason or NO reason at all........that isn't fair. You can sue anyone for any reason also, if you have the time and money. Attorneys are all willing to do whatever may make them money but they know what is worth it and what isn't. They are in it for the money not the game. Well, maybe some get off on the game. So, today, lawsuits are like water. I would rather put the energy where it makes a difference for me.

Well that kind of logic, health insurance wise, should be taken all the way then and not be indiscriminate as to who/what they are against.

Those with familial propensities to mental and physical ailment, those who are...say...10 pounds off (either way) from what is considered normal weight, those who engage in risky activities on their own time...be it para sailing, mountain biking, skiing or even playing a pick up game of baseball, football, basketball...wonder if frisbee golf is too risky...might jamb a finger and your productivity will suffer.

Totally redonkulous if you ask me. Yer right 4TheBulls...no war required...the acceleration of our decline is proves we're all closer to the drain then most think. Dumb as soup. ~sigh~

i think u have to draw the line somewhere with cigs. i think the more we suppress it the better. we know smoking is a killer. its like denying sea level rise. i understand the point about other risky behavior. here we have patients crossing busy streets to get off hospital grounds to smoke. with their IVs. i had the patch , it helped. most smokers want to quit anyway. the nurses were very happy i was a smoker who didnt leave the hospital to smoke. i been gonna quit for yrs. of course. dont tell me i cant smoke in my own truck though. i dont care if i am in your fucking parkade. im in my fucking truck

I like to visit Utah and it's wonderful sites. Whenever I eat in a restaurant I am amazed that their are still smokers allowed in the restaurant.

I agree with Bulls. I know smoking stinks, I've hated it all my life but I am a smoker and I choose not to quit. I don't smoke in my house and I am very clean about smoking (not in places with a lot of people, not in my home, etc). To take a hair folicle test is quite extreme. In my opinion its fine if you're not on the property and don't reak of it when you get back. Have you ever snuck out back of a hospital and seen how many doctors and nurses are smoking? It's quite funny really. This has been a non-public smoking state for a while. I didn't like it at first, but I like not coming home smelling like an ashtray too. But what I do on my time is my business.

i would not b use to that either. i dont know how people go to taverns when u cant smoke. i quit drinking before the law that u cant smoke in public buildings. i see the people at the bars standing outside smoking. i thought alcohol and cigs went together like horse and carriage

I thought the question only applied to the hospitals not employing her.

i still say an employer shoulldnt have to pay higher premiems for having smokers though they arent forcing these people to smoke
If an employer does hire a smoker i think they should have the right to require the person come in NOT smelling of smoke on hair cloths or breath.

my computer cut me off sorry

now many say its leagle.......well so is geting drunk but how many empolyers want someone coming to work that way? or smelling like a brewery from the night before? would you do business with a place that has someone who smells so bad or is hacking up a lung ?

for myself there is no way because there is 100 other places to go if one is offensive to me or my sences in any way. but this is just my opinion.

jobs r jobs. rules r rules. lets see how many of this forum can quit. $5 a pack saved. new smoke free car. well lets start with tobacco smoke. not all smoke is bad. we wouldnt have fire without smoke. fire good

You cant use being drunk and equate it with smoking a cigerette on or off work property during work hours (or with smoking at all)

Being drunk during your work hours depending upon your jobcould very well cause an accident or a death