well if the law says they can’t not hire you because you smoke, from a no-lawyer pov, it seems they just violated the law, and it appears you may have a winning case here, it seems blatant and obvious that as soon as you answered yes, she immediately said we can’t hire you if you smoke, clear causality right there.
it’s not like you would smoke at work anyway. so it hasn’t anything to do with you smoking in a clean room or a patient’s area, etc.
i would sue them. if they are this stupid they deserve it.
The gall of those people to think that they can hire whomever they want for whatever reason. What do they think this is...a free country or something? Report them to the government in hopes of getting them sent to a re-education camp where they can get their minds right!
Fecal matter, meet rotating blades.