Can Employers Go
Too Far in Promoting Smoking Cessation?
[Posted 04/29/2008]
Because healthcare premiums continue to rise every
year, many US companies are trying to control costs
by urging employees toward healthier lifestyles. The
Associated Press (AP) reported that a Whirlpool factory in Indiana
recently suspended 39 workers when they were seen
smoking or chewing tobacco on company property.
These workers had signed insurance paperwork
claiming they didn't use tobacco products. They are
suspended without pay, and a fact-finding meeting is
scheduled.
To motivate employees, some companies set up
wellness programs onsite. Some offer financial
incentives to workers to make healthier choices.
Certain large employers even adjust healthcare
premium contributions based on a worker’s smoking
status.
Many people applaud the emphasis on smoking
cessation as a step toward a healthier lifestyle.
Others, such as Lewis Maltby, worry that employers
may be going too far. Maltby is president of the
National Workrights Institute, which advocates for
employee privacy.
“We shouldn’t have to give
employers complete control over our private life so
they can save a few dollars on medical care,”
he
stated.
Read the full AP story at http://www.cnn.com/2008/US/04/23/suspended.smokers.ap/index.html.
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