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Last post 6 years ago by Just Relax. 12 replies replies.
Cigar Lover In Indiana? Your Job Could Be At Stake
cacman Offline
#1 Posted:
Joined: 07-03-2010
Posts: 12,216
You know what’s enjoyable? Smoking a premium cigar. You know what’s not enjoyable? Getting fired from your job because you smoke premium cigars on your own time, away from the workplace. But if one state senator from Indiana gets her way, cigar lovers who work in The Hoosier State could be penalized by their employers for lighting up.

In the latest, over-the-top attack on tobacco, Sen. Liz Brown of Fort Wayne, Indiana has introduced a bill (S.B. 23) that seeks to repeal part of the state’s workplace code to strip away “employment protections for individuals who smoke cigarettes or use other tobacco products.” In other words, the bill would grant businesses the right to test employees and job applicants for tobacco use, placing the perfectly legal product on the same tier as illegal drugs such as marijuana, heroin and cocaine.

If the bill were to pass, the new law would give businesses the right to withhold health coverage from smokers, refuse to hire them, or even fire employees based on their tobacco use in their free time.

This isn’t just overkill, it’s ridiculous. Or to steal a line from the great Jackie Chiles of Seinfeld fame, “It’s outrageous, egregious and preposterous.” (Speaking of Jerry Seinfeld, he and Larry David understand that there is a big difference between cigarettes and cigars, evinced by this clip from Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee.)

Insurance companies have been testing applicants for tobacco use for years to help establish life-insurance premiums. Many insurance companies lump pack-a-day cigarette smokers into the same category as the occasional cigar connoisseur without differentiating the two despite one being a nasty habit, the other a pleasant hobby. Unfortunately, S.B. 23 falls into the same trap.

“Of all the anti-tobacco bills filed throughout the nation, S.B. 23 by Indiana State Senator Liz Brown symbolizes the nanny-state as few do,” said Glynn Loope, executive director of the Cigar Rights of America. “This legislation is an attempt at social engineering using the legislative process, to pander to the Indiana Chamber of Commerce, who is backing this bill. Having the government enact a law that would allow an employer to hire and fire employees, because they may happen to enjoy a cigar or other legal tobacco product, is as bad as using taxation or smoking bans to strip away personal freedoms and property rights.”

Currently, 29 states and Washington D.C. all have statutes dubbed “smoker protection laws” that, in general, prevent employers from discriminating against employees who use tobacco products in their own free time. Should S.B. 23 pass, that number would fall to 28.
If you’re a cigar lover in Indiana and want to ensure your right to enjoy a premium cigar won’t cost you a job, it’s time to speak out. Head over to the Cigar Rights of America website and use their “Take Action” tool to contact your General Assembly representatives.

https://www.cigaraficionado.com/article/cigar-lover-in-indiana-your-job-could-be-at-stake
banderl Offline
#2 Posted:
Joined: 09-09-2008
Posts: 10,153
Poor TCBY!
Phil222 Offline
#3 Posted:
Joined: 10-01-2017
Posts: 1,911
Sounds like the health insurance lobby has been hard at work in Indiana. Coming to a town near you...
banderl Offline
#4 Posted:
Joined: 09-09-2008
Posts: 10,153
Danm is a nurse who works in that ****hole aka indiana (sorry Dan).
His health insurance company already requires him to take a test.
However it might be to get a cheaper rate.
Hopefully, he'll chime in.
TMCTLT Offline
#5 Posted:
Joined: 11-22-2007
Posts: 19,733
banderl wrote:
Poor TCBY!






Rent free biotch....Speak to the hand
ZRX1200 Offline
#6 Posted:
Joined: 07-08-2007
Posts: 60,473
Just guessing...Democrat?
ZRX1200 Offline
#7 Posted:
Joined: 07-08-2007
Posts: 60,473
Holy crap she's a RepubliCANT?????!!!

LMAO
Speyside Offline
#8 Posted:
Joined: 03-16-2015
Posts: 13,106
Republican or Democrat if passed this would be government crossing a line that never should be crossed.
rfenst Online
#9 Posted:
Joined: 06-23-2007
Posts: 39,096
I wonder what the actuarial reports on cigar smoking show...
danmdevries Offline
#10 Posted:
Joined: 02-11-2014
Posts: 17,115
banderl wrote:
Danm is a nurse who works in that ****hole aka indiana (sorry Dan).
His health insurance company already requires him to take a test.
However it might be to get a cheaper rate.
Hopefully, he'll chime in.


Yup. There's a "tobacco free discount" you can only get if you test negative.

But they say it's not punitive or a tobacco surcharge...

And it's nicotine test, so if you consume in a harm-reduced form you still get hit with the fine. No gum, patch, vape, etc. So if you're gonna consume nicotine, might as well just get it from tobacco
Ewok126 Offline
#11 Posted:
Joined: 06-25-2017
Posts: 4,356
This is nothing new in the medical field. Over 5 years ago when I was working across the US, many medical facilities had the policy of "would not hire if nicotine was in a person's system" which translates to testing. Also, if one was to pass the test and hired then later was found that He/She was currently smoking cigarettes, cigars, Nicotine gum, vaping, etc then termination. I just wondered how long before it became seen more often than just in medical facilities.

The gubment crossed this line with chest bowed out and strutting many moons ago.
Just Relax Offline
#12 Posted:
Joined: 09-26-2016
Posts: 587
I'm seeing this a some nut job thinking they have a good idea that will never move past committee. Disappointed the chamber backed it.
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