Outre, I really appreciate your thoughtful and informative post. Thank you so much for taking the time to do it. This is the kind of stuff I'm looking for to build a supply of ammunition if I decide to file a grievance.I feel for you.
It may not be the employer making this decision, or at least the employer may not be the driving force behind the decision.
Their insurance company may be forcing them into it with lower costs.
Humana won't hire smokers in Arizona
Some excerpts (bold and color emphasis mine);
"To enforce the tobacco ban that starts Friday, Humana will test new employees for nicotine use during a pre-employment urine drug screen."
"Employees in Maricopa County, Arizona, recently complained about a new health plan that required them to submit saliva samples to test for nicotine. The employees complained that such testing represented an invasion of privacy. County employees who agreed to take the test and did not have tobacco in their system qualify for insurance premiums that are $480 less than what smokers and those who refused to take the test must pay."
"Several Arizona employers have encouraged employees to quit smoking through policies that adopt a carrot-and-stick approach. Companies often ban smoking at work and offer discounted health insurance for employees who agree to kick the habit. Some employers have assessed a benefit surcharge on employees who continue to use tobacco, according to Blue Cross Blue Shield of Arizona."
Perhaps the insurance company is applying the "carrot and stick" approach to your employer?
As an aside, here's an interesting blog post with an informative graphics prompted by the above article - Refusing to Hire Tobacco Users – Valid Argument or Just Blowing Smoke?
If I was experiencing this (I work from home), I would go with mint or flavorless and stealth vape at work - as other have said.
The guy who runs the company is a health nut - he's always running marathons, blah, blah, blah. I'm pretty sure he is the one who made the decision for a complete smoking ban. He has no idea of the consequences that will come as a result of taking away the privilege of smoke breaks from a bunch of menopausal women, most of whom have other health issues. We do have health insurance, but its premiums are very high. I pay over $200 a month just for the health insurance premium. There is also a big deductible and high co-pays. I'm seriously considering switching to Medicare (I do qualify because I'm on Social Security Disability). My job is part-time (24 hrs/week) and falls well within the guidelines of what SSD will allow. I do data entry and barely make minimum wage. I found this job through the Bureau of Vocational Rehab. It's fairly low-stress mentally and physically. I've been doing this job for over 6 years. I miss a lot of days when I'm totally exhausted or in a lot of pain, but so far I've managed to not get fired for poor attendance.
I used to belong to an HMO through a previous employer that gave us price breaks if we were non-smokers and our weight fell within a healthy range. That was back when HMOs first started. The health insurance we have now does not give price breaks for such things. I was very healthy back then and only had to pay a $5 co-pay for a doctor's office visit. Things sure have changed.
