[markem]

The healthcare industry, in general, is under a lot of pressure to "set an example" about healthy habits. Do not be surprised to find this at many healthcare related businesses. Many insurance companies are also on the band wagon with more all the time. We recently got switched to CIGNA and I did tell them about my cigar smoking. Fortunately, the company from which we get coverage has many ex-military who are serious about their cigarettes, so it didn't tip the bucket in any way.

It is their right to demand non-smoking personnel and it is your right to choose to keep smoking and work elsewhere. That's the free market. The fact that it is abutting up against the main thrust of this board means that all here are affected, but at the end of the day, it is a business decision based on economics and/or industry pressure.

If the primary thrust of this board was legalization of drugs, then we'd have this same conversation about a different provision of the hiring policy.