Ethics in the Workplace Essay

Insurance companies using experience-rating are allowed to charge tobacco users more than 1.5 times the premium rate of a non-tobacco user.3 Smokers under employment-based health insurance could face up to a 50% increase in their premiums if there is no effort to cease smoking behaviors.4 The ACA has three main goals for restricting surcharges to smokers; limit the effects of high cost tobacco users, encourage smoking cessation and discourage others from developing smoking habits.5 Using surcharges to control tobacco use establishes the precedence that smokers are held responsible for preventing behaviors that lead to negative health outcomes. Smokers should hold a degree of responsibility for their tobacco use but they should not bear the complete burden if they actively participate in programs that promote the cessation or reduction of smoking habits. By doing so they are demonstrating their willingness to change their unhealthy behaviors as well as their commitment to the collective common good of health care and societal

indeed at the noses of those of us who don't. While they should have autonomy

She claims that even though conflicts are arising because of the bans, smokers will become more understanding of the bans in the future. She uses Mayor Bloomberg of New York City as an example. She states that “Mayor Michael Bloomberg drew much fire in New York City by outlawing smoking in restaurants and bars. Now in a city of easier breathing and increased longevity, his efforts are seen as a solid legacy.” As long as individual liberties continue to be limited, smokers will never completely come to terms with banning smoking in their own home. In restaurants around the nation, smoking is commonly allowed, but only within a designated smoking zone, which is usually in a room separate from those who are non-smokers. Completely outlawing smoking in restaurants in New York City was a very poor political decision because it put a severe strain on individual liberties, for many New Yorkers are known for smoking cigarettes, but now can’t even enjoy a meal and smoke in designated areas. Banning this kind of smoking did not make for “easier breathing” and “increased longevity” for New Yorkers. In a big, populated city like New York City, litter poses a bigger threat to individual health. According to the New York City government website, there is even a main phone line to call about chronic littering

Raising taxes on tobacco products and implementing smoking cessation legislations can minimize the prevalence of smoking up to 30 percent to 80 percent over a 50-year period (Ekpu & Brown 2015).In 2009, NBC news stated that Kansas, one of the states, considering banning smoking at enclosed areas showed that if they banned smoking in restaurants, the state was going to save 20 million dollars in healthcare costs (Associated Health, 2009). West Virginia state implemented smoke-free laws and had an increase of almost 1 percent in restaurant employment (“Smoke Free Laws do not Harm Business,” 2017). Restaurant workers were more comfortable coming in to work knowing they would be breathing in fresh air. Although in Tennessee, percentage of adults who smoked in 2011 increased from 23 percent to 24.3 percent in 2015 (Fletcher, 2016). This increment was not that significant considering the fact that it was over a period of just 4 years. The annual health care cost in Tennessee directly to smoking increased from $2.16 billion in 2004 to $2.67 billion in 2017(“The Toll of Tobacco in Tennessee”, n.d.).

In Minnesota there was a state wide smoking ban that took effect on September 30, 2007. “The Minnesota law applies to bars, restaurants, and private clubs.” (Brunswick, 2007) This change in the law has affected some of the business in many bars. Recently there have been a few bars that have found a “loophole” in the Freedom to Breathe Act. The loophole basically states that smoking is

In my opinion, employers can implement the rules and requirements for their employees, as long as they do not go against the law in the current state or the country. Charging employees more for health insurance, or requiring to quit smoking, both seem pretty reasonable strategies to me. A lot of people value financial stability. So, the fear to be fired, or pay a lot more for medical insurance, can encourage people to stop smoking and actually benefit their own life and increase the company’s productivity. However, the new rules and regulations should be implemented step by step. In my opinion, Weyco’s approach was very smart. Fifteen months was a reasonable amount of time to quit smoking. Company did not just throw this policy to its employees, but actually did everything possible to help them save their jobs.

“Smoking is a major causative factor in many illnesses, including lung cancer, cardiovascular disease, peripheral vascular disease, strokes and COPD. The cost of caring for individuals who smoke and develop these conditions is astronomical. Yet in Medicare and many group insurance plans, smokers pay the same premiums as non-smokers.”(Levine, Web) Why would smokers then cease to stop smoking or reduce their intake of cigars or cigarettes? Should higher insurance rates or premiums be given to those who continue to practice bad health decisions to push them away from it and help reduce the cost of health care? It won’t unfortunately Levine explains “these are often people with emotional problems or who live on the border of poverty and might drop their insurance if the price of coverage

The issue about smoking in the workplace is important to organizations today because it has direct impact on both smokers and non-smokers. With this issue, it forces organizations to develop smoking policies. If I was the HR director at the castle, the policy

Smoking is an expensive habit. People who smoke cigarettes can spend as much as $2,500 a year on them. Smokers’ claim that it helps relax them and it releases stress but the negative aspects of smoking outweigh the positive. Smoking is a health hazard for smokers and non-smokers. Smokers should have the right to choose what to do with their own health but they should respect non-smokers. Many people believe that there are good and bad outcomes from smoking. I believe that smoking is bad and that it should be banned.

Smoking costs the United States more than $300 billion each year, almost $170 billion put in direct medical care for adults and more than $156 billion in lost productivity due to premature death and those who exposed to secondhand smoke. Almost 5billion in medical cost associated with secondhand smoke. States collect 26.6 billion from tobacco taxes and tobacco industry legal settlements to prevent and control tobacco use, but the states are only using a very small amount of these funds for tobacco control programs. Only 2 states in the united state fund the tobacco control programs at the CDC’s recommended

According to the CDC guidelines, promoting smoking cessation is the most important component of a comprehensive state tobacco control agenda to reduce tobacco use. Smokers who quit at any age can prevent most of the risk of smoking related diseases including death, and has an immediate and long-term health benefit. Evidence-based research shows that statewide tobacco control programs that are comprehensive, sustained, and accountable have reduce smoking rates, as well as tobacco-related diseases and deaths. This comprehensive approach includes education, clinical, regulatory, economic, and social strategies. States that have made larger investments in comprehensive tobacco control programs have seen larger declines in cigarettes sales than

Workers and customers shouldn't have to be subjected to second-hand smoke, It puts workers and customers health at risk and is an avoidable risk. Smoking at work also breaks a safety trust for customers and workers and gives the company

The smoking of tobacco has continued to have an unfavorable influence on our health care system in association with spending. In recent studies and surveys, researchers discovered approximately $170 billion dollars of healthcare spending is paid towards diseases produced by tobacco smoke (Kennedy). A large sum of the money put towards tobacco-related illnesses is also taken from government sources. Making smoking tobacco illegal would allow the government to save billions of dollars, money that could be used for important needs in our country. Roads, bridges, and government projects could all be funded with smoking becoming illegal. The Center for Disease Control and Prevention states that more than $156 billion in lost productivity is due

Nicotine is highly addictive, which is one of the reasons why it is so dangerous. The nicotine withdrawals a person might go through can be one of the biggest reasons they cannot/will not quit. Smokers may know the dangers it causes, but have too much difficulty quitting and it is no longer an option for them. They may decide to continue smoking, accepting the risks simply because of the psychological and physical traumas quitting takes them through. One of the employees fired by Weyco in Michigan due to its ban on smoking, Cara Stiffler, spoke out about the policy. She strongly disagrees with the ban and she believes that quitting smoking is a fight about personal liberty. She says “I want to quit, but I want it to be on my terms, not someone forcing me to make that

In literature there are many positive views among researchers about the workplace smoking ban. For example a study conducted by Trosclair et al