Another one o' them smoking ban threads....

[Sean]

Okay, so I'm bummed that we lost all the old threads. The smoking ban one was a great collection of the progression of idiotic legislation and legal action taken against society in the name of "health". So I'm starting a new one, and maybe if we ever get the old one back, the two can be merged.

So anyway, I just saw this article about Sarasota county officials declaring that they will no longer hire smokers. Here's an excerpt:

SARASOTA — Citing the burden they place on taxpayers who pay for government workers' health insurance, Sarasota County officials announced Monday that they no longer will hire smokers.

...New hires will be asked to submit to a drug test that detects nicotine and sign a pledge promising they have not smoked in the last 12 months. Existing employees will not be affected, but they are encouraged to take advantage of free programs to help them quit.

I have to wonder how many of the people involved with making this decision are obese, or drinkers, or have high cholesterol due to bad eating habits, or ride motorcycles, or sunbathe frequently. What is it with this laser-like, high and mighty focus on smokers? It's clearly not a health issue as they claim, otherwise none of the groups I just mentioned would be allowed to work for the county either. Bunch of hypocritical jerks if you ask me.