Legal or Illegal? Right or wrong?

kmj2587 · Post by **kmj2587** » Sat Jun 30, 2007 9:57 am

Zakharra wrote:You drink on the job and your performance suffers. You smoke on the job and your performace doesn't suffer. The damage comes much later.

Yes it does.

Fluff wrote:Well, its been found that smokers cost a business more than non-smokers, primarily in more sick days but also higher health costs and lower productivity.

So basically you pay these people more (higher health costs born by the firm) and they don't actually do as much work (lower productivity). I certaintly don't agree with the measure, but perhaps one could negotiate a raise for the non-smokers(or pay cut for the smokers) to even out this $/(unit ofoutput) gap between employees who smoke and employees who do not smoke. As it stands now, firms have a financial incentive to enact policies such as this one. While a pay difference certainly does not force anyone to do anything, it raises the costs of smoking due to foregone wages in addition to the high costs of cigarettes by themselves.

Zakharra · Post by **Zakharra** » Sun Jul 01, 2007 12:23 am

It's a legal product though. It's like not hiring someone because they drive a car, or watch TV or go onto the Net..

Fluff wrote:
Well, its been found that smokers cost a business more than non-smokers, primarily in more sick days but also higher health costs and lower productivity.

Then ban cigarettes if it's so bad for you.

Burt wrote:

It's legal to be an alcoholic, but you wouldn't hire one would you? Reckon you need a better grievance than the legality.

If it didn't affect their work, I'd havce no problem hiring one. I'm not meaning a few more sick days or things like that, but poorer quality of work, inability to function at work, wether they are on time or not.

As far as I know, you cannot discriminate on hiring a person who drinks. If so, then why allow discrimination of people who smoke? The health aspect is not really relevant. Many sports, hobbies and normal work/living practices are just as dangerous if not more so. Like driving a car, you have a 1/3000 chance of dying on the roads in a year everytime you get behind the wheel.