Hospitals Shift Smoking Bans to Smoker Ban

[actourdreams]

Smokers now face another risk from their habit: it could cost them a shot at a job

Comments

[muse_misery]

Considering it is the poorest families/low income likeliest to smoke, this is typical. Great work pretending to give a fuck about people's health and hijacking a real cause to support your blatant classism, folks.

I hate people today.

[muse_misery]

More eloquently, they are definitely attacking the wrong people here. I mean, I understand the idea of not wanting to pay health care costs of smokers, I guess ... but this is targeting people who have been targeted by the tobacco industry and punishing them even more. Like I said, the poorest families are more likely to smoke given that they are advertised to the most, live high stress existences that make stopping smoking that much harder, and also do not have the funds, and often the support to quit. Telling these already struggling individuals they will be punished even further by continuing this cycle of punishment by not employing them, and potentially providing them with the means to quit, doesn't make you a valiant hero of the anti-smoking cause. It makes you yet another part of the problem

[koalafrog]

I agree with this entire comment so hard.

This is one of those causes where it looks good on the outside, so it will attract a lot of support, but the inherent classism at work will just, at best, maintain the status quo (and at worst, increase the gap between the classes even further).

And it's such an easy way to do it, considering how many people already demonize smokers.

[maynardsong]

This is a good comment and you should feel good.

[snackbreak]

This is my half-assed "research" but I've heard this before so: smokers cost less $$$ in health care than non-smokers, due to dying young.

So maybe calm the fuck down, employers. Jesus, are you going to monitor my gym attendance too?

[vilawolf]

According to a recent (June 2010) lawsuit, Hooters does just that.

http://www.myfoxdetroit.com/dpp/news/local/Another-Local-Woman-Suing-Hooters-20100602-ms

[snackbreak]

Ugh. I just cannot stand how people get their hate on regarding smokers, but I hate shitty chain companies that pay min. wage and expect "loyalty" and emotional investment in their shitty corporation EVEN MORE. I hope that woman wins (won? is it over?) her lawsuit.

[arisma]

My mothers shitty, shitty health plan requires her to continually be losing weight or face even higher premiums.

[jetaimerai]

Smoking is a habit that is notoriously difficult to quit... and you want to make quitting smoking a prerequisite for employment? Fuck you.

[windy_lea]

Yeah, I am not okay with this :-/

[vilawolf]

This is not going to make the economy better.

As a smoker myself, I have quite a few other things to say though I know this is not the place to say them.

[vilawolf]

P.S. If the parking lot of ((unnamed)) Nashville Tennessee Hospital I had to take to my Mum to last month is any indication they'd have to fire 2/3rds of the current staff.