A chain of hospitals has officially stopped hiring smokers, says an article I just read at Phillyburbs.com. Along with other drug tests, the hospital also test for nicotine and if you’re positive, they wont hire you. I find this disgusting. I’m all for banning smoking from hospitals, but smoking is still legal and I cannot see how any company can argue this isn’t wrongful discrimination.
Smoking is a detriment to your physical health. Worse yet, it’s addictive. Valid arguments could be made that, as an addictive substance which is detrimental to your health, governments should make it illegal in an effort to protect their citizens. I would listen to those arguments. From those arguments would come questions such as, “When does the government have the right to decide when a citizen cannot do something which is bad for their health?” But so far, it is not illegal.
The hospitals apparently have a list of reasons why they’ve made this decision, including lowering the costs of their health insurance. But I have a feeling they don’t need to say too much. Smoking is already considered an obvious evil.
Here’s the problem: Nobody ever talks about the benefits of smoking. There must be some benefits, right? That was rhetorical. I’ll tell you. There are benefits. But people aren’t talking about them because it’s become utterly taboo to talk about the benefits of such a demonized habit.
Along this line: I’d like to see bans from other jobs on other detrimental habits:
- No hiring – Asshole teachers
- No hiring – Gay priests
- No hiring – Insomniac doctors
- No hiring – Fat waiters
Should a company be allowed to not hire someone because of habits in their personal life which bear no greater consequence to their impact on the company greater than alcohol or diet? I don’t believe so.
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Obviously this not hiring of smokers seems to be wrongful discrimination. On the other hand at least someone is trying to get a social stigma going about some of the most harmful shit this side of ice. Smoking has for so long been seen as cool and someone has to do something to start turning the tide of opinion and make people see smoking for what it is. Lord knows I think it’s cool too, and no matter how many years I go without a smoke, I’m still a smoker and would love to pick it up again, no matter how high they hike the price or what nasty ads they make. I see the other side though. Infective exacerbations of emphysema, folks with 24 hour oxygen. It’s cool to tote a pack of darts. It’s not so cool to tote an oxygen cylinder. It’s not cool to not be able to catch your breath, it’s not cool to need a thoracotomy. I can’t say what the motives are for these hospitals, I guess like most big business it’s about the bottom line. I can get on board with a bigger picture in mind though and while I will never condone any kind of discrimination I’ve got to see the broader impact as a good thing for everyone.
I hear what you’re saying Anna. That’s why I would take an argument to make tobacco illegal seriously (I don’t think it will happen any time soon, but I think there are some good arguments to be made). Meanwhile, I’m super sensitive to discrimination of this sort. And I don’t see how not hiring smokers helps people quit except for the minor niche of smokers in the health industry in that particular area.
Meanwhile, it is very reminiscent of free speech arguments to me, where I support the right to hurt themselves, even if I don’t agree with it.