Going To No Tobacco Class At Work

[curl]

Nicotine is a good drug; it's the delivery system that's problematic.
Smoking clears the head and relaxes the body, making nicotine the perfect golf drug. You need to be alert and thinking right to plan your next shot, and you want to be relaxed to execute a good swing. I'm pretty sure there are other activities that can benefit from this combination of effects.
Anymore, anti smokers are chasing diminishing returns. The fact that they are now harassing people who enjoy cigars, pipes and e-cigs tells me they ain't following a scientific path; they just like pushing people around.

 

[mp31guitar]

How is this not discrimination? It's been used as a defense by others, why not us?

 

[ravkesef]

Sorry, MSO, I joined the Navy and made a career of it, and then retired. I've spent literally months at sea and never had a shipwreck. We had a sign on the bridge of one of the ships I served on: "A collision at sea an ruin your hole day." Not wishing for too many ruined days, I drove carefully when I was Officer if the Deck. I also didn't want the Captain's boot rammed twelve inches up my backside. When you consider the number of seagoing miles racked up by ships at sea, it turns out to be a pretty safe occupation, because we're all experts at what we do. Now, how many other pursuits are as safe?

 

[Perique]

Anti-smokers amuse me, given that they are largely urbanites and suburbanites ingesting a steady diet of toxic chemicals, plastics, herbicides, and genetically modified organisms, not to mention they are inhaling a large amount of carbon monoxide and various petroleum by-products. Then there are the toxic chemicals in their pressboard houses.
They are also usually fat and soft as cookie dough.
So by comparison, a little smoke in flyover country doesn't seem like that big a deal. But the urge to tax and regulate is irresistible. And we all played a role, actively or passively, in creating the largest and most expensive government in human history.

 

[kairos]

How about a mandatory class to teach the specific text of the U.S. Constitution, before it becomes a completely useless piece of paper?

 

[dochudson]

They are also usually fat and soft as cookie dough.

from some of the post a picture of yourself threads on here and other pipe/cigar forums I would say we have our fair share of larger people.

 

[igloo]

Moochelle is heavily invested in a company that makes those kid healthy meals . And you thought the white house gave a rats ............ . :puffpipe:

 

[macabra11]

mp31guitar I'd say I was surprised by what your company is doing, but there is so much political bullshit being spewed out by corporations these days, that nothing surprises me anymore. If ever there was a situation for using the term "face palm", this would be it.

 

[conlejm]

Peck, to answer your question, in many companies the employer will pick up a portion of the premium as part of the "benefits package", and the employee will pick up the remainder. Additional employee costs are such things as copays, coinsurances, and deductibles. These are all part of the benefit design. My guess is that the additional 25% could be passed on to the employee, but that depends upon the company's discretion. At my company, the employer gives you additional "credits" if you don't smoke and have a proper BMI, acceptable cholesterol and normal blood pressure levels. Depending on how rich the benefit, here in NH a family health policy can be as much as $20K per year; some are half that. It also depends on what your company does for work; coal miners for instance will have a higher premium than bankers. I am health economics director at the country's largest health insurance provider, so I am somewhat familiar with product pricing, though my expertise is is not product pricing but provider reimbursement.
There are so many lifestyle choices that are bad for one's health. Some, like obesity, only affect the diagnosed person directly, but through the subsidization of insurance premiums affect everyone (via premium price) indirectly. Others, such as smoking, not only affects the smoker but also directly affects others through second-hand smoke. This is likely why it is such a "flaming turd" in society.
By way of admittedly poor example, STDs and unwanted pregnancies are costly to treat, can be life-threatening, they affect others, but how does the government prevent this from happening, or levy a tax on promiscuity? :wink: Will the government enforce an abstinence policy someday? Tax on birth control products?

 

[easterntraveler]

I work in a prison and I do not get a lunch break so I never get to smoke at work. For me not a big deal I use it to wind down not keep me going. However I do think it is garbage that you are forced to do these things. I agree make obese watch an insanity video.

 

[mp31guitar]

I'll have to pay the 25 percent increase. I work for a small company with 15 employees. It's a nice place to work and I don't fault my boss for increases in insurance. They already pay about $66 a week for my insurance and I pay, I think about $26 so it'll about a $19 dollar increase a week. I've been thinking really hard about it and I hate to give up a collection I've spent years accumulating. I have some nice (to me) pipes and I descent cellar. I just can't bring myself to throw it out or give it up. I going to try to quit the cigs and dip though. I think if I can do that it'll make my pipe smoking the more sweeter.

 

[Perique]

How about a mandatory class to teach the specific text of the U.S. Constitution, before it becomes a completely useless piece of paper?

/thread
kairos wins

 

[planetary]

Somewhere on the internet there are forums with obese people who rage against the science that tells them their "lifestyle" is dangerous and they hate you food fascists who want to throw them under a bus. On that site they have threads where warring libertarian factions come out variously for free markets or Constitution-worship, while more moderate voices are ignored amidst the endlessly rehashed vitriol. Most of the obese people stick to the threads talking about food, though, and are happy enough, in the scheme of things.

 

[moriarty]

There are so many lifestyle choices that are bad for one's health. Some, like obesity, only affect the diagnosed person directly, but through the subsidization of insurance premiums affect everyone (via premium price) indirectly. Others, such as smoking, not only affects the smoker but also directly affects others through second-hand smoke. This is likely why it is such a "flaming turd" in society.

Is there any evidence that second-hand smoke affects health? If so, I'd like to see it.
I absolutely understand that many people find smoking unpleasant and antisocial, and I am sympathetic to that, but I am not aware of any evidence that it presents a health risk.

 

[moriarty]

How is this not discrimination? It's been used as a defense by others, why not us?

As I understand it there are no laws in any country to protect people against discrimination, except for discrimination on the grounds of race, sex, religion, or disability. Any other kind of discrimination is lawful, albeit morally wrong.
Perhaps we should start a pipe-smoking religion.

 

[moriarty]

Perhaps we should start a pipe-smoking religion.
Too late Rastafarianism already exists.

Where do I sign up?

 

[condorlover1]

It's all a bit baffeling. When I came to the US it was because the UK had become regulation crazy and now I see the same thing here in my new home. I despair that the majority is happy to be pushed around when all that is required is to put these idiots in a camp somewhere so that they can annoy each other!