Jobless Because You Smoke

In retrospect, American employers should have any control on what an associate does outside of their work hours, by means of a totally free country. But from the employers perspective, it is completely understandable. If I ran my own business, I wouldn't want unhealthy employees who are constantly sick and are constantly taking breaks every hour to partake in an unhealthy addiction. At the office I work at, the smokers are still pretty productive, but they are pushing themselves harder because 1/6th of their work day they are outside smoking.

If we classify nicotine and alcohol as drugs, why can't they test for them and terminate employees or turn down potential new hires like they do for other controlled substances? That is a completely cultural bias in not selecting certain drugs to test for when considering an employee. Along with smoking and drinking, Americans are known around the world for being obese, which has more health risks than smoking.

In a perfect society, each employer would have a gym and a cafeteria with healthy foods in order to keep employees healthy and promote exercise. But this type of idea isn't feasible for most employers. But considering most smokers are in the lower income range, employers should do what they can to help smokers with discounts to gym memberships and other healthier activities and offer support in smoking cessation.

I for one was hired at the company I work for in 2009, as a smoker. Although I made sure I didn't smell like smoke during the interviews, I still eventually told my manager I smoke cigarettes during the day. There was no issue about it from the management end as long as I stayed in the designated smokers area. But working for a health care company, I was surrounded by people who were active and healthy individuals, so it inspired me to quit smoking. It was tough, but the benefits were definitely noticeable after the first few days and it