Anti-Anti-Smoking Rules

We mentioned last week that several companies have refused to hire -- or impose health-coverage surcharges on -- employees who smoke.  Jennifer Clemons sends this Washington Post blog post arguing against such policies.  Here's an excerpt:

As Lewis Maltby, the president of the National Workrights Institute, told the New York Times in February, “The number of things that we all do privately that have negative impact on our health is endless. If it’s not smoking, it’s beer. If it’s not beer, it’s cheeseburgers. And what about your sex life?”

Most of all, employers asking employees to take a urine test to prove they’re not smokers should contemplate what that says about the level of trust they have in the people who work for them.

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