ALASKA — Yes, this one can be filed in the ‘blatant discrimination’ category. According to Dermot Cole, columnist for the Fairbanks Daily News-Miner, the University of Alaska is considering instituting a ban on the hiring of tobacco users as early as July. No, this isn’t discrimination anywhere near as ugly as the sort that’s based on race, gender, or creed. But it’s discrimination all the same and, as is usually the case, it is based on ill-thought-out, arbitrary assumptions and biases. Remember, we’re talking about the legal consumption of a legal substance. In your own home. Off the clock.
It seems that the main arguing point for putting such a ban in place (besides the always popular, ‘because it’s not good for you’) is to save the University money by reducing the tobacco-associated health costs that its insurance must cover. That makes sense — the University, after all, is a business and must look to keep costs down just as any other business must. So why not charge an extra fee or raise the premiums for those employees who smoke?
Apparently the U of A did give a bit of thought to that option, but concluded that such fees/charges might come off as a bit too ‘punitive’ or ‘intrusive’, and that they would be difficult to enforce. Agreed.
A future U of A non-hire.
So, to get around this, the University is simply considering not hiring them at all. The University would presumably conduct a pre-employment ‘nicotine test’ (perhaps right after testing for the presence of caffeine, liberal beliefs, and bacon-double cheeseburgers) that would separate the guilty from the innocent.
Let’s be clear here: That health costs for smokers are generally higher than those for non-smokers is a pretty widely agreed-upon fact, and as such, employers that provide health coverage to their workers have very good reason to take this information into consideration when implementing their healthcare policies. By simply not hiring these potentially overly-expensive employees in the first place, the problem is solved.
Sure, adopting such a hiring policy is harsh, and should be illegal (actually, it is illegal in 29 states), but it makes perfect sense from a business’ perspective.
But why stop there? How about refusing to hire fat people? Or people that indulge in a couple of gin & tonics after work each day, while sitting in their own recliner in their own house? Or anyone over the age of, say, 45? Why haven’t we heard about these ideas being discussed? Do old age, obesity, and alcoholism cost businesses that much less in healthcare costs than smoking does? — so much less that it’s simply a non-issue?
It took only a cursory amount of research to find that the opposite is true. According to one study, healthcare costs associated with smoking and alcoholism were far lower than those associated with obesity and normal aging — in some cases, up to 3 or 4 times lower. Another study (this one conducted in order to estimate the medical and indirect costs to the Department of Defense that are associated with smoking, obesity, and alcoholism) included dollar amounts to go along with their findings:
The DoD spends an estimated $2.1 billion per year on medical care associated with smoking, obesity, and alcoholism. The breakdown is as follows:
– cost of medical care associated with tobacco use = $564 million
– cost of medical care associated with obesity = $1.1 billion
– cost of medical care associated with alcoholism = $425 million
A quick bit of arithmetic and it becomes quite clear: obesity-related costs amount to about double what tobacco-related costs do.
And, mind you, this study was published in 2007 — what do you think today’s numbers look like? And if you’re going to consider that, you must also consider the fact that smoking rates in this country have been steadily falling while obesity rates are steadily rising.
Conclusion: Hey, University! — Wake up and smell the lack of logic in the air! Perhaps it’s time to rethink your so-called line of thinking. If your true aim is to save yourself and your employees some money by snubbing tobacco users, well, clearly there are much bigger fish to fry.
To which the University might reply: "Yeah, pretty much."
OTHER ARTICLES YOU MIGHT CARE TO PERUSE:
– Speaking of alcoholism: What exactly happens to wine once it enters a typical man?…
– Click here to find out why we hired Musa Luna, despite the fact that she smokes 1.6 packs per day…
– Besides bacon-double cheeseburgers & cigarettes, what else can be defined as ‘delectable’?…
– Other ‘reasonable’ reasons for unreasonable things that we humans do…
– Will the University decide to hire ‘synthetic biologists’ (assuming that they don’t use tobacco, of course) in the near future?…
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I agree with the author. I get drunk and show up to work o n a regular basis and no one seems to care. In fact, its kinda like a joke. What makes this even more hilarious is the fact that I work for the department of transportation. So who cares if people are smoking cigarettes in the work place, or are getting drunk in the parking lot of their work. As long as none of us are gay we can do what we want right?
Let’s be careful here, Carma. In no way do i condone drinking on the job, especially when said job entails operating a motor vehicle — in fact, i never even mentioned drinking (or smoking) on the job. To be quite honest, i would have no problem with my employer banning smoking at the workplace, while i’m on the clock.
The issue here is that these employers are dictating what we can and can’t do ON OUR OWN TIME, ON OUR OWN PROPERTY.
And yes, discrimination against gays is quite an important issue as well, if that was what you were implying.
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Yea Carma you need to watch your mouth. What the author was trying to get at is we need to stand up for our right to drink at work if we want to! If i want to get hammered in my own home then wake up drunk and go to work who are they to judge me? Its my personal right and im going to get drunk at work.
wow…..
and this is why i am considering joining the ‘church of misanthropy’ – the word for the next few days: misanthrope
I wonder what the per capita type II diabetes costs are. And I know any sort of surgical operation is hella expensive, I’m looking at you old-timers.
Also if I am smoking most of the short-term health effects, bronchitis, second-hand smoke, can be mitigated effectiveley and cheaply. Once you get in the system you could percievibly get away with spending 40 years at the institution and getting your emphysyma paid for.
I like many other future University of Alaska employess am not considering that long term employment so the figures are even more skewed towards short-term costs. And thus smokers would cost the company much less than an overweight employee, or a wizened aged wizard…
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Jesus christ you people are crazy. What J. Eaton is trying to say is second hand smoke kills everybody, but what we drink before or at work only affects us. When we get wasted at work, we are basically saving our coworkers from the harmful effects of second hand smoke which is deadly. By allowing us to get drunk at work the state is rewarding us for internalizing our vices and not pushing it onto others.
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Ok, I have been monitoring these comments for a couple of days now and you guys got it all wrong. What J. Eaton is trying to say is you shouldn’t get drunk at your job if you have to operate heavy machinery. What you do in your free time is your own business. If you want to get blasted and drive around a forklift than that is your choice, but dont drink at work unless you job does not require to operate heavy machinery. What J. Eaton means is if you have a desk job get go ahead get drunk but if you work at UPS please dont.
i love you guys — there’s nothing more gratifying than being completely understood by one’s fellow humans…..thanks.
Either you guys are the biggest group of morons ever or Salcha just had a 50% off meth sale. This article has nothing to do with drinking at work!!! What the author is getting at is that we have the right to drink as much as we want in our own home. Hell i get off work every night have 7 or 8 beers and still get my kids to soccer practice; thats my right! You morons need to read the article before you put words in the authors mouth
Wow…you people are….wow. This is the most ignorant collection of redneck ramblings that I have ever heard. “Der, im gettin drunk at work then coming home and starting tire fires…der” “I like to get drunk and drive and compromise my childrens saftey, then i come home and beat my wife derrrrrrr”. You people are worse than the Assyrians
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University of Alaska might Officially Refuse to hire Tobacco Users by July | fairbanksirl.com
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