I smoked pipes and cigars for 20 years. I swithched to snus for several reasons, health, cost and protection from anti-smoking campaigns. I find it hard to believe, but my employer is about to enact a policy, effective January 1, 2010, that bans the use of all tobacco. I'm not talking about a ban in the workplace, I'm talking about a total ban, such that I cannot use tobacco at home. If I want to continue using tobacco i have to pay a costly surcharge on my healthcare premiums. Never imagined that the ant-smoking movement would reach smokeless tobacco. Anyone else dealing with this?
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There are a few companies in our area that test for nicotine and will not employ any 'junkies'. I suppose that's their option, but I don't have anything nice to say about it. -
Companies can only get away with things like this if we let them. A few questions:
How do they know if you are in fact using tobacco?
Are they going to perform a medical test to check?
How are they going to account for a person going to a bar or another smoky environment and "accidentally" ingesting tobacco?
Are they banning tobacco products and nicotine, or just tobacco products?
What about medicinal nicotine?
A few options:
-Comply and you are their bitch
-Keep using tobacco, **** em!
-Contact a lawyer and see if it is legal
-Sue em into the ground if possible :P
-Somewhere the usual last step of 'Profit!" fits in, not sure where though.
Lastly, we all have choices to make on a daily basis. In this economy it makes the choices even harder. You have to do right by you and your family but banning ANY tobacco use seems rather outrageous. I would go in with some info about how snus carries only a slightly higher increase in risk versus non smokers. There is plenty of documentation about this via google.
Here are a couple of link:
http://www.starscientific.com/404/Foulds2.pdf
http://cro.sagepub.com/cgi/reprint/15/5/252.pdf
-AinkorComment
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How do they know if you are in fact using tobacco?
Not clear how they will know.
Are they going to perform a medical test to check?
I would guess random testing
How are they going to account for a person going to a bar or another smoky environment and "accidentally" ingesting tobacco?
Do you actually get nicotine in your system from 2nd hand smoke.
Are they banning tobacco products and nicotine, or just tobacco products?
They are banning cigs, cigars, pipes, chewing and snuffWhat about medicinal nicotine
Thats a good question.Comment
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Is Florida a right to work state? If not then they can't fire you, but they can make you (as you pointed out) pay extra for health care. My opinion? Get another job or get private coverage.
If it IS a right to work state, then you're screwed. You can be fired at any time for any reason so long as it's not discrimination based on sex, race or religion. Tobacco use is not a civil liberty. My friend in North Carolina worked for an office whose owner quit smoking and decided everyone else should, too. She had worked there for twelve years, and refused to stop smoking. She along with another couple of people were fired after a COTTON SWABBING revealed that they still smoked. She unsuccessfully sued her company and also filed for unemployment which she didn't get. Such are the perils for many of us in the south, absolutely NO job security. If I worked for a boss who decided on a whim to fire everyone wearing a green shirt, well, tough shit. That's his right.Comment
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And to clear up the above, a nicotine test is usually twofold- a blood test (which may turn up a false positive for non-smokers that have been in a smoky environment) and then a cheek swab, which will only pick up nicotine/tobacco residue directly ingested by the user.
Cigator, you may claim Indian heritage and claim that tobacco use is part of your religious heritage/ceremonies. Of course, since they're not threatening to fire you, only increase your premium, I doubt this will make any difference.Comment
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I had a co-worker who had an independent health insurance plan and they were testing (not sure how the test was performed) to see if he was a smoker. He gave it up for a few weeks and once the testing was over, he picked it up again. I don't believe they test again after the initial test.Comment
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Considering im about 30 min from ya...which company if you don't mind sharing...dont want to apply there
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All I can say is it is a government job.Originally posted by ctimb2002Considering im about 30 min from ya...which company if you don't mind sharing...dont want to apply thereComment
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What kind of increase is it?Comment
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looks like $100/monthOriginally posted by rscott222Comment
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my biggest problem with this is selective enforcement on health issues. You can be grossly overweight, diabetic, eat tubs of lard, and your insurance isn't affected. But if you use tobacco, you are the devil and must be punished. My health is good overall, but I use tobacco so I am a higher risk than someone with high cholesterol and 100 pounds over-weight? How about alcohol? I can drink all night and weekends without impacting my health insurance? When will the government put a tax on high-fat foods like they do tobacco?Comment
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Not so true. A number of companies are now making folks lose weight or they will be charged way more just like you will be for using tobacco.Comment
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I don't really want to get started here, because I will end up going into an endless rant that will involve much cursing!
Cigator I feel very bad for you.
I am beginning to feel ashamed to be an American, and that makes me sad. I've always been a very patriotic person, and have always thought that people that said that our country was going down the toilet were just ungrateful pricks.
Well now I just feel like a chump! Where oh where did our rights and freedoms go?!?Comment
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