Testing for Tobacco Use?

I would think the fact that you are only 20 years old would be a bigger concern for you trying to get a driving job VS tobacco use.

 

I don't so much agree with that. Tobacco use penalties have been around for a long time on private health and life insurance policies but not so much on employer plan policies. Up until recently, joining an employer plan never even included a questionnaire form. All they wanted was your name and SSN and you were signed up at the current group rate, no questions asked. Not so today with the ACA.

This was a big part of the reasoning behind why so many insurance providers were sold on the ACA in the beginning ... they were going to be sanctioned to raise rates by a number of means that involved letting the carrier decide what was good and what was bad, so long as it comported with what the government thought was right.

 

I can not speak as of what the insurance would say on that, only what I know. Now if I were a betting man, and you showed up with nicotine in your system, no matter how it got there, it would count against you. No matter what you are still putting nicotine in your body. Now if you are on a prescription in order to quite, i am sure they would take that in to consideration.

 

Before the ACA my last employer started charging "suspect" drivers $50.00 a month for being smokers. You were "suspect" if the terminal manager didn't like you. If you were a member of 'the gang of 4' ( bosses favorites) you did not get charged. When I called the insurance carrier, they said they did not charge for tobacco use. So it was a company thing to redistribute money from the driver to management. So, they took 2 hrs pay a month to increase the bottom line, which does nothing for drivers health. Beware the 'slippery slope'. Smokers are a easy target now, but what about dirt bike riders? A crash in the middle of a national forrest can cost close to $100,000.00 in extraction costs, plus whatever medical care and rehabilitation you may need. Drink soda, coffee, chew gum? All can be detrimental to your health in done to excess. Meat and potato diet? It's fine when others are targeted, when you become the target engaging in a lawful activity, it's another matter entirely. this is done by the companies, not the government.

 

No. I worked for a trucking company 20 years ago that charged smokers more for health insurance than non-smokers.
You had to sign an affidavit yearly that stated you had not smoked in the previous 6 months (or something, don't remember it being a year) to get the cheaper premium level for the next year.
I don't remember them spying on you. I forget what the difference in premium rates was, but was somewhere around a few dollars a week for the employee contribution.
Maybe a 15 or 20 percent upcharge.

 

It amazes me how easily some people give up their rights, without any fight what so ever. A "fine of $50" would be dangerous to some ones health.

 

You don't have to quit smoking. You just have to pay more for insurance at some companies, can't smoke on company property, and a few won't hire you at all.

You still have your rights.


Smokers are an easy target, although a much smaller one than they used to be.

 

I do not smoke, haven't since 1982. It is just the thought of an employer fining some one for an activity that is not illegal and possibly not engaged in, just their opinion.