My former employer, the University of Pennsylvania Health System, no longer hires tobacco users. It has joined a growing group of employers, including many health systems, that discriminate against smokers on the grounds that such employees cost the employer money (through loss in productivity) or, in the case of medical institutions, act against the health promoting values of the employer.
Such policies might be well-intentioned, but they are misguided and ethically muddled. As much as I like the idea of incentivizing people to kick the habit, denying jobs to qualified people because they smoke is not an appropriate intervention…(Read more and view comments at Forbes)
