A February 14, 2005 Journal News article by David Schepp, about the company Weyco firing workers who smoke, included comments from ACSH president Dr. Elizabeth Whelan:
"If I had a choice I would not hire a smoker," says Elizabeth Whelan, president of the American Council on Science and Health, a public-health advocacy organization...
As a practical matter, Whelan says, it makes less sense in the face of rising health-care costs to hire someone who voluntarily participates in a habit known to further disease.
She also says the impact of smoking, not just on the person but on the company as well, is becoming more and more apparent. And while Weyco's decision is today viewed as very provocative and radical, it will become more common.
What's more, Whelan also doesn't buy into the idea that what workers do on their own time is their own business and shouldn't concern employers.
"I'm sorry, but it is bothering me," she says, "because the consequences associated with the habit are going to perhaps affect the bottom line of my company."
For more on smoking, see ACSH's site http://TheScooponSmoking.org.
