The War on Nicotine

[Songbird]

Vermont's law just went into effect so you can't buy smokes till you're 21.

U-Haul is putting a halt on the employment of nicotine users in Vermont and 20 other states starting Feb 1.

The equipment moving and storage rental company’s new nicotine-free hiring policy will apply to users of nicotine patches, capsules or any other products containing nicotine, but workers hired prior to Feb 1 will not be impacted by the policy, U-Haul announced in a recent press release.

U-haul’s jump on the health-conscious wave comes amid rising concerns over increases in youth tobacco use and vaping. In 2017, 9.3 percent of high school students in Vermont smoked cigarettes on at least one day in the past 30 days. Nationally, the rate was 8 percent, according to a study conducted by Truth Initiative.

Full story here.

 

[TheSportsPredictor]

Thought this was federal law now.

 

[outofplace]

It should be. More importantly, the existing laws should be enforced more vigorously. The tobacco industry has been living off getting children addicted to nicotine for way too long. How many people actually pick up smoking after they turn 18, much less after they turn 21? Not nearly enough to keep big tobacco executives in the type of lifestyle to which they are accustomed.

 

[playthrough]

So the U-Haul employee that rents you a ****box on wheels will now be a non-smoker. Got it.

 

[BitterYoungMatador2]

America: you are free to do as we say.

 

[hondo]

Excellent. I hope more states and companies take these kind of measures. I have said this before and I'll say it again: how in the world can any reasonably-educated person ever think about putting a cigarette in their mouth? There's too much info, too much proof and too many dead people.

 

[Cosmo]

Costs a lot more to insure a smoker, no?

 

[The Big Ragu]

Costs a lot more to insure a smoker, no?

A LOT more, the extra costs for a smoker can run into the thousands of dollars of year. ... Also, employees who don't smoke are sick much less often, so less sick time away.

One thing not discussed is if U Haul could have taken a carrot approach, instead of the stick approach they did? Could a company tell employees that they can get free or cheaper company-subsidized health insurance if they test nicotine free, but they will have to pay for it themselves if they smoke or vape? Or is that not an option because it is so overregulated?

 

[outofplace]

Good question. I don't know the answer to that, but Cosmo raised a good point. I doubt U-Haul cares about anything other than keeping its own insurance costs down and getting employees to show up to work more often.

Is this fair or right? I don't care. As I have in the past, I freely admit that I am not particularly rational on this subject. The target of my ire is not smokers. It is the tobacco companies, who make their living by selling poison to children.

 

[CD Boogie]

Vermont's law just went into effect so you can't buy smokes till you're 21.

U-Haul is putting a halt on the employment of nicotine users in Vermont and 20 other states starting Feb 1.

The equipment moving and storage rental company’s new nicotine-free hiring policy will apply to users of nicotine patches, capsules or any other products containing nicotine, but workers hired prior to Feb 1 will not be impacted by the policy, U-Haul announced in a recent press release.

U-haul’s jump on the health-conscious wave comes amid rising concerns over increases in youth tobacco use and vaping. In 2017, 9.3 percent of high school students in Vermont smoked cigarettes on at least one day in the past 30 days. Nationally, the rate was 8 percent, according to a study conducted by Truth Initiative.

Full story here.

Excellent. I hope more states and companies take these kind of measures. I have said this before and I'll say it again: how in the world can any reasonably-educated person ever think about putting a cigarette in their mouth? There's too much info, too much proof and too many dead people.

Well, ya first do it when you're young, dumb and impressionable, then you kind of like it and so you keep going back. I'm 46 and I still smoke socially. I'm pretty reasonably educated, but I also have an addictive personality.

 

[Batman]

At the same time we're trying to eliminate tobacco smoke, there is a massive push to legalize marijuana nationwide.
Inhaling one type of smoke into your lungs is OK and the other is not, I suppose.

 

[Songbird]

I'm 46 and I still smoke socially.

I was in the city last week, meandering from sand to glass for hours on end. Haven't had a cig in a few years but was really wanting one and nearly bought a pack to indulge for a few days. Chose not to. Kind of want one right now but not enough to make the effort.

 

[Regan MacNeil]

I've lived in some really Red places politically, but I've never seen more smokers anywhere than I have living in Pittsburgh.

 

[BitterYoungMatador2]

I've lived in some really Red places politically, but I've never seen more smokers anywhere than I have living in Pittsburgh.

Central Pennsyltucky is worse.

 

[poindexter]

At the same time we're trying to eliminate tobacco smoke, there is a massive push to legalize marijuana nationwide.
Inhaling one type of smoke into your lungs is OK and the other is not, I suppose.

That is bizarre.
I grew up with both parents smoking cigarettes like people were paying them to smoke. I probably had the lungs of a 70-year old by the time I was 10.
I hate cigarette smoke, and I have loved the last two decades where the country has been relatively smoke-free.

Not sure why people think pot smoke is okay. The law about not smoking in public is a joke.

 

[Regan MacNeil]

Central Pennsyltucky is worse.

Thing I don't understand about Pittsburgh is it's fairly progressive. Lots of tech yuppies. But every other person is lighting up like a chimney.

The air quality around here is bad enough already; why are these people rushing so much faster into lung disease? And **** are cigarettes expensive now.

I haven't smoked in years, but they were like $3 a pack when I started. Now they're like $7-something.

 

[hondo]

At the same time we're trying to eliminate tobacco smoke, there is a massive push to legalize marijuana nationwide.
Inhaling one type of smoke into your lungs is OK and the other is not, I suppose.

Let me know when pot is linked to about 10 kinds of cancer.

 

[jlee]

I don’t really have an opinion on smoking regulations, outside of there being a reasonable minimum age, designated areas where it is prohibited for public heath reasons, and robust enforcement of both.

I do think an employer rejecting people who use nicotine at all is thoughtless. To my knowledge, casual nicotine use does not impair a person from performing a regular job. As for the insurance aspect, companies regularly single out the nicotine users with a mandatory physical and charge them higher rates. It makes more sense to ban smoking on premises or during work hours or to make clothes with noticeable odors a dress-code violation.

In the spirit of oop’s point, if these are people who have been tricked into an addiction as kids, denying them a job based on that punishes the wrong people.

 

[Cosmo]

At my last newspaper job, you had to pay an extra $50 a paycheck for your insurance if you were a smoker.

 

[The Big Ragu]

At my last newspaper job, you had to pay an extra $50 a paycheck for your insurance if you were a smoker.

Did they test? How often?