Stop Smoking, Lose Weight Or Be Fired?

If you are obese or overweight, you better start losing weight.

If you are a smoker, quit smoking seems to be your only option.

If you are obese and smoker, then you are not only at a higher risk of getting heart disease and other diseases, but also very likely to be fired by your employers.

Is this a joke? Don't believe?

Unfortunately, this is true and this has already happened in the US.

In order to have a better control on the escalating healthcare costs, employers have adopted stricter wellness policies.

According to press reports in the US, companies such as Scotts (gardening) and Weyco (healthcare) have fired employees who tested positive for nicotine. In fact, a policy was instituted by Michigan-based Weyco in 2005 that allow management to lay off employees who smoke, regardless of whether they do it at work or at home. The company subsequently fired 4 employees who either refused to be tested for nicotine or after tests showed they had nicotine in their blood.

Naturally, the implementation of these unpopular policies by the employers are certainly opposed by their employees. Last year, a Massachusetts man actually sued Scotts for firing him for smoking on his own time. He insisted that he was unfairly sacked for "engaging in legal activities away from the workplace."

In a online poll conducted by Harris Interactive early last month (October 07), most Americans were strongly against bosses firing workers who are obese or smoke. Out of 2,267 US adults polled, only a few actually agreed that employers are allowed to fire someone who is unwilling to lose weight (4 percent) or stop smoking (7 percent). Nevertheless, about one-third of poll respondents preferred employers to require staff to attend quit-smoking sessions or weight-loss programs.

Personally, I would not agree with companies firing their employees with health issues without first giving them a chance to modify their health conditions. But those employees who are obese or smokers should now have a pressing reason to cease smoking or reduce weight right away, not only for health reasons but also for bread and butter.