Let me know how these work out. My wife's doctor has suggested them for her, but they are tweaking her diabetes meds and want to wait til that is more stable.

I will let you know. The program is supposed to be 4 weeks - 1st week on low dose, then next 3 weeks on the regular dosage. A co-worker's husband quit in 10 days. I'm just plotting my start date so I have the best chance of success.

When I quit in '92, I attended a Green hypnosis seminar - you get reinforcement tapes and can attend a seminar forever if you need to. I went to one a couple of years ago, but it didn't click at the time.

I'm going to get those tapes (now CDs) out too.

Good luck! I have my fingers crossed for you. (And it really makes typing tough.)

Thanks. Nothing like starting a new job, moving out of my bf's place and maybe buying my place for a little stress.

I have to agree if my foot is in the shoe of the business owner.

I'm not willing to take up the cost of that person being sick because its self inflicted...

Its not fare to me and has nothing to do with discrimination.

Here is why. Dissabilities that people are born with like Cerebral Palsey, are not terminal.

Smokers create TERMINAL illnesses that I would have to pay for, for the rest of the suffering person's miserable life while they either end up on dissability or chemotherapy, radiation, and surgeries.

I was a smoker. So, please... Understand that I don't think I'm better than someone who smokes, but the statistics speak for themselves and money lost is money lost.

I recommend the book called "The Cost of Being Sick" by Nicholas Web. We are already paying Medicaid and Medicare to millions of people in the Trillions in the US, because cardio vascular and diabetes is putting our insurance costs to the point of UNNAFORDABLE!

Let's keep our insurance costs down and increase productivity in the work place while keeping the moral up with healthy non smoking people.

Make sense?

How does coffee affect medical inssurance?

*cough cough*

*hack*

Man, all this dust, all these old threads.

*a-choo*

First they came for the smokers , and I didn't stand up because I wasn't a smoker.
Then the came for the over weight people , and I didn't stand up because I wasn't over weight.
Then they came for the tattooed people.....and the list goes on and on and on....
Where does it end ?

Good idea.

Let's ban all the pregnant people too. And the one's with kids because they take off for every sniffle. Oh, let's ban the fat people cause you know heart disease and all. Let's ban the stupid people (please) because they're sure to do something do disrupt the workflow and can we please ban the dude with aftershave overdose cause it's making me gag and I might have to go home. Can we also ban the guy with mid-life crisis that drives the fancy sports car while trying to "connect" with the escort service from his cell while driving because that can't be good. Oh and that sheepish chick in accounting? She has allergies, to everything, better get rid of her too.

Yeah, let's make sure those insurance premiums stay low and let's inspect EVERYONE'S behavior, habits and peccadilloes, shall we?

/clue

I don't think it's right to discriminate against smokers. Sure, smokers take smoke breaks, but coffee (and tea) drinkers take coffee breaks, so should caffeine users be discriminated against also?

I'd personally rather hire a smoker than an obese person, though, but I'm not going to discriminate against either.

Actually, I lied there. I do field work, and while I've never had anyone huge apply for a job, I would likely not hire a very fat person to be my rock mule in the mountains.

The bottom line is: I'm damn glad that the majority of health care/insurance is dealt with by the province and not employers.

Labor market...


This is a product, of it. If they needed to fill a lot of jobs they would lower their standards...Unfortunately in some businesses you have herds of job seekers and not many jobs...then employers can be petty and picky. I'm gonna start a business and not hire people who drink (on or off the job) because drinking causes spousal abuse, low birth weight, and destroys the liver, all major drains on my health plan...I will however hire people who smoke weed, because those people are cool and more fun to hang out with at the office Christmas party...This is yet another example of why the traditional workplace/college/life and I would never get along, and I am glad I have found a way to make a living outside these places of senseless, controlling and mind numbing conformity. Hire who you want, give people a full physical if you want before you hire and insure them, but don't base hiring decisions on one legal habituation.

I am a smoker, and was told by a doctor in 1962 to start smoking to lose weight. I couldn't stand diet pills. It was common in those days for doctors to recommend that woman start smoking.
In fact many doctors smoked.
Maybe I am not the norm, but after I started smoking my ashma went away and I lost weight and I did not get sick anymore. When I was overwieght as a child I was constantly sick with cold after cold.
I have been smoking for almost 46 years and I have a physical every year since I was 18 years of age. I do not take any drugs prescribed by a doctor or any other drugs that are legal or illegal. Knock on wood I am probable as healthy as any 20 yr old, I have chosen not to carry insurance not because I can't afford not too, but because it is not tax deductable for an individual and I did not want to be experimented on.
I try to eat right and have avoided alcohol and most processed foods and foods containing sugar.
Has anyone done a study on smokers that do not drink and how that affects their health.
From my experience I have noticed that people that smoke but do not consume alcohol they do not seem to have the health problems that drinkers do.
The insurance companies are experiancing cancelations of their policies because people can't afford the premiems because it is not tax deductable by an individual, unless it exceeds 7 1/2 % of AGI and if your subject to AMT it must exceed 10% of AGI. So as more and more people and companies quit carrying health insurance the permiems must go up. So the insurance companies raise the premiems on smokers to make up the difference.
Drinking is a lot more serious problem then smoking. Second hand alcohol does kill and causes a lot more problems than smoking tabaco.
I am also almost 65 and people think I am 45, I do not have wrinkles like they say smokers do, but I think I don't have wrinkels because I do not drink alcohol and if I want to I can walk 2 to 3 miles a day and not get out of breath. My husband quit smoking 15 years ago and gained 200 pounds and because he is grossly overweight he has a lot of heath problems.
I am self employed so I have no smoking restrictions. But I guess since I soon will be aplying for medicare insurance, but I do not think I will take part B, since I am not one to take many prescribed drugs, maybe I should apply for disability insurance since I am a smoker, and that would enable to get a higher payment instead of SS. I wonder how many people will apply for ssi because they smoke a legal substance.??
If the government knew it would cost them more money maybe they would stop this nonsense.
Soon people will be suing other people for the smell of second hand alcohol drifting over to their house from someone having a backyard party serving alcohol to everyone.

they already are:

Of course it's fair. It's their company, their money, their rules. Don't like it? Go work somewhere else.

I don't agree with this. You're basically saying that even though I am qualified for this position, I can't have it because I smoke a few cigarettes a day? Its my choice if I want to put harmful poisons in my body goddamnit! So what if you don't take your breaks and I do? Not my fault. You're allowed two 15 minute breaks a day and because I actually use them and you don't you want to b***h at me? If I smell like smoke, don't sit there and b***h, tell me and I'll make sure I spray on some perfume or air myself out before coming to sit next to you.

This is still a form of discrimination. Its a lifestyle I choose to live and you won't hire me because of it. f**k you!

/end rant

P.S. I'm going through nicotine withdrawls right now from my decrease in smoking so bare with me people. I'm a little edgy.

Businesses are allowed to discriminate against lifestyle choices. Hooters can discriminate against fat women, and dental offices can avoid hiring people who don't care for their teeth. It is a FREE country, and that means I should be free not to hire someone who's lifestyle choices compromise my company in any way.

It is only wrong to discriminate against those who cannot help, or choose not to change whatever it is that makes them less appealing to hire.

You couldn't have said it better.

Yes, as many of you have said it is legally allowed for private businesses, but that does not make it fair or right. I find this kind of discrimination odd and kind of insane, a company should not be telling you that you cannot smoke cigarettes on your own time (which is perfectly legal) if you want to work there it makes no sense.

Soon they will be telling war protesters they don't want to hire dissidents, Atheists they don't want nonbelievers, and polygamists they don't want to alienate the other employee's.