Are you a smoker who's currently looking for a job? You might have to think twice about your nicotine habit as increasing numbers of companies are instituting tough penalties for employees who smoke. In fact, some companies today won't hire you if you smoke. Rising costs of health benefits and the known risks of illness for people who smoke are among the reasons that employers are cracking down on smokers.
Many employers are instituting tough measures for people who smoke, including asking the employee to pay for their own health insurance or asking them to pay more than nonsmokers. Additional measures that companies are using include instituting no smoking policies, testing employees for tobacco use, and giving employees a quit date to stop smoking. At the extreme, people may be fired for smoking.
Most of us know by now that the cost of smoking can be high from a health standpoint. Smoking increases the risk for lung cancer, heart disease, stroke, chronic infections, and other serious illnesses. Smoking, according to the American Lung Association, causes more than 80 percent of lung cancer cases. Stopping smoking will significantly reduce the risk of developing lung cancer over time. Interestingly, the National Cancer Institute found that smokers who want to quit have a higher success rate if their workplace does not allow smoking.
High Costs for All
But the costs of smokers are also high for employers who lose money on employees who smoke through increased healthcare costs, absenteeism, sick days etc. According to the manual, Making Your Workplace Smokefree -- A Decision Maker's Guide, created by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, The Centers for Disease Control, and other national organizations, studies have shown that smokers have more hospital admissions, more outpatient healthcare costs, and tend to take longer to recover from illness compared to those who don't smoke. The manual states that a smoker who quits smoking can save his or her employer more than $1,000 in excess illness costs each year.
Hiring practices at some large institutions are changing regarding smokers. The World Health Organization will simply no longer hire anyone who smokes. The Cleveland Clinic Foundation (CCF) has also taken a tough stance against workplace smoking. The CCF does not allow employees to smoke anywhere on the premises of their healthcare facilities. This policy is true for visitors and patients as well. The CCF does offer smoking cessation groups for patients and employees who want to quit. Most companies are willing to help employees quit through smoking cessation and other wellness programs.
What will be next? Will an employer be allowed to fire an employee for being overweight or not exercising? Whatever the future holds, increasing numbers of employers are asking their employees to take more responsibility for their health to reduce both the employee's risk for illness and their company's financial risk. |
