SMOKERS AND JOB OPPORTUNITIES

SHOULD EMPLOYERS REFUSE HIRING SMOKERS?

Submitted to: Dr. Benedict Omblero

Submitted by: Joselito J. Mebolos
Date: December 19, 2015

SMOKERS AND JOB OPPORTUNITIES

SHOULD EMPLOYERS REFUSE HIRING SMOKERS?

Submitted to
Dr. Benedict Omblero

Submitted by
Joselito J. Mebolos

December 19, 2015

CURRICULUM VITAE

PERSONAL BACKGROUND
Name:

Joselito J. Mebolos

Gender:

Male

Age:

33 Years old

Date of Birth:

September 13, 1981

Place of Birth:

Makilala, North Cotabato

Civil Status:

Married

Citizenship:

Filipino

Height:

56

Weight:

193.6 Lbs

Religion:

Roman Catholic

Spouse:

Liezl Celis

Occupation:

Public School Teacher

Father:

Jose Mebolos (Deceased)

Occupation:

Soldier

Mother:

Hermenegilda Jala

Occupation:

Public School Teacher

Contact Number:

09199622183

Email Address:

mebolosjj@gmail.com

EDUCATIONAL ATTAINMENT
College:

Bachelor of Science in Computer Engineering

Colegio de Kidapawan, Kidapawan City

Year Graduated:

2003

High School:

Makilala National High School

Makilala, North Cotabato

Year Graduated:

1998

Elementary:

Manobo Elementary School

Manobo, Magpet, North Cotabato

Year Graduated:

1994

There has been a lot of effort exerted by government and nongovernment organizations on getting people to quit smoking. Tax and price
of tobacco products has been increased, prohibition of smoking in public
places and conveyances were implemented and in the last decade this
effort to reduce smoking received negative reactions from tobacco
manufacturers, planters and smokers in general, but ultimately in many
cities here in our country particularly Davao City, the results of smoking
bans are now clearly visible. In other countries establishments have begun
to refuse smokers hire, which made some ethical issues to crop up.

Although some of these policies have existed for several years, people are
still arguing about the best way to solve the smoking problem, which has
been believed to cause a number of deaths per year. An argument which
leads to the question: Should employers deny smokers a job
opportunity?

The refusal of hiring smokers is hypocritical particularly for a

healthcare institution, because its employees pledge to care for patients
who suffer from illnesses that may be caused in part through their own
lifestyle choices, such as smoking. It is very difficult to quit smoking for
many people. In addition, smokers are more likely to be poor, less
educated and unemployed. By not hiring smokers, employers are
preventing them from both job opportunities and health insurance.
Not hiring smokers sends a strong message to employees and the
community that smoking is harmful. The refusal of hiring smokers gives job
applicants a strong incentive to quit smoking. Not everyone will see a given
approach as achieving the same balance between social goals and effects
on individuals. Is it fair to penalize smokers even though the highly
addictive nature of nicotine makes their behavior less than entirely
voluntary? In many surveys, about 70% of smokers say they want to quit,
but only 2 to 3% succeed each year. One reason for this huge gap is that
smoking cessation has immediate costs in the form of nicotine withdrawal
(i.e., the symptoms of withdrawal and the costs of antismoking treatments),
but its benefits in terms of improved health are considerably delayed. Thus,
although some people may see anti-tobacco hiring policies as adding
economic injury to physical injury, we would argue that such policies also

make the benefits of smoking cessation more immediate and so help to

counterbalance the immediate costs of quitting.
Refusal of hiring smokers is unethical, establishments particularly
hospitals cannot in good conscious refuse to hire smokers since they treat
people whose behaviors have often contributed to their health problems. It
would be paradoxical to create policies against employees who do the
same. It is callous and contradictory for health care institutions devoted to
caring for patients regardless of the causes of their illness to refuse to
employ smokers. Just as they should treat people regardless of their
degree of responsibility for their own ill health, they should not discriminate
against qualified job candidates on the basis of health-related behavior.

We're trying to promote a complete culture of wellness. We're not

denying smokers their right to tobacco products. We're just choosing not to
hire them. Each year, smoking or exposure to secondhand smoke causes
443,000 premature deaths and costs the nation $193 billion in health bills
and lost productivity, according to the Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention.
Smoking is not a totally voluntary behavior, since it involves
addiction and you cant discriminate against people for at least partially
involuntary behaviors. And there are health costs associated with a range
of unhealthy behaviors, not to mention healthy ones. People who engage
in risky sports may have accidents or experience trauma routinely and
burden coworkers with additional costs. Having babies increases
premiums for fellow employees who have none. So to deny smokers jobs
would not be a reasonable course of action. Smokers should not be denied

employment, penalized with higher insurance premiums or stigmatized for

their nicotine addiction.

Cigarette smoke contains hundreds of chemicals and compounds

that are toxic and at least 69 that cause cancer. These chemicals travel
throughout the body, wreaking havoc in the form of inflammation, cancer,
heart disease, stroke, lung disease and a weakened immune system. To
ignore this would be to undermine our commitment to health and wellness,
which includes providing a healthy environment for our employees, visitors
and clients.

Three major aspects need to be considered when hiring an

employee: the place and nature of the work for which a person is applying;
those affected by the work; and the suitability of an applicant seeking to fill
the position. Ethically, discrimination may never be the basis for a decision
regarding a prospective employee. Rather, those hiring ought to exercise
prudence in evaluating a prospective employee.

Circumstances, however, can alter an applicants suitability. For

example, smoking is already legally prohibited in enclosed public areas.
Jobs such as nursing or waiting on table which involve close contact
among co-workers or those they serve, may result in a smokers
application being rejected. A smokers clothing may retain an offensive
odor, even if the employee would not light up on the premises.

Smokers are less productive. The empirical evidence that smokers

have lower productivity over working years is fairly strong. They are less
productive because they may miss work more frequently (absenteeism)
and because their smoking-related health conditions (shortness of breath,
cardiovascular conditions) may affect their ability to perform certain kinds
of jobs (presenteeism). Even if the firm does not pay sick leave,
the disruptive effects of more frequent absences in jobs that require
teamwork (such as hospital nursing) will probably lead initially to costs on
employers. These cost effects may be minimized if wages can be varied
for a given job, or, if wages cannot be varied, by hiring non-smokers.

Smokers have higher medical costs. Smokers have higher average

health care costs than non-smokers, other things being equal. (They may
have higher life insurance costs but lower pension costs, as well.) Almost
all job-related insurance in hospitals is experience-rated or self-insured.
Even if employee premiums for health and life insurance are not adjusted
for smoking status and wages are uniform within firms, the fact that
medical costs will increase for firms or occupations with larger shares of
smokers means that there will be offsetting reductions in money wages.

Smoking is indeed harmful to our health people have been ill and
even died because of lung cancer caused by excessive smoking. But this
doesnt mean that they can be deprived of having a job and earn for their
own and their family. It will be unfair for them, a violation to their human
rights, smoking is not the only reason that a person could get sick or have

terminal illness. It would be better to have a policy like the one that we
already have, banning of smoking in public places. For establishments,
they should set a strict policy to ban smoking and not smokers.

References

Should We Ban Smokers? Some Companies Are. Retrieved December 16,

2015

from

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/dr-judson-brewer/smoking-

workplace_b_3203906.html

Workplaces ban not only smoking, but smokers themselves. Retrieved December 16,
2015 from http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/money/industries/health/story/2012-0103/health-care-jobs-no-smoking/52394782/1
Refusing to Hire Workers Who Smoke: An Economic Perspective.
Retrieved
December
16,
2015
from
http://knowledge.wharton.upenn.edu/article/refusing-to-hire-workers-whosmoke-an-economic-perspective/
Religion

Talk.

Retrieved

December

15,

2015

from

http://www.mlive.com/opinion/grandrapids/index.ssf/2013/12/is_it_ethical_companies_to_ref.html
The Ethics of Not Hiring Smokers. Retrieved December 15, 2015 from
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query=featured_home
Conflicts and Compromises in Not Hiring Smokers. Retrieved December
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http://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMp1303632?
query=featured_home&

Pennsylvania hospitals' ban on hiring smokers prompts debate. Retrieved

December 10, 2015 from http://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-hospitalssmoking-idUSBRE95R0UE20130628
Youre a Smoker? Sorry, We Cant Hire You. Retrieved December 10, 2015
from

http://www.care2.com/causes/youre-a-smoker-sorry-we-cant-hire-

you.html
Can companies ethically refuse to hire smokers? Overeaters? Ethics and
Experts Debate Ethics of Refusing to Hire Smokers. Retrieved December
1, 2015 from http://www.drugfree.org/join-together/experts-debate-ethicsof-refusing-to-hire-smokers/
Should Companies Have The Right To Refuse To Hire Smokers? Retrieved
December

1,

2015

from

http://www.forbes.com/sites/alicegwalton/2013/03/28/should-companieshave-the-right-to-refuse-to-hire-smokers/
Why we won't hire smokers. Retrieved December 1, 2015 from
http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/news/opinion/story/2012-01-29/ClevelandClinic-not-hiring-smokers/52873896/1