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You cannot, however, fire a smoker because they will cost you more to insure them

Smokers are not a protected class anywhere in the US. There is no law anywhere that protects them from being fired for their behavior.

You cannot fire a smoker simply because you don't like the way they smell

Sure you can. There is no law anywhere in this country preventing you from firing someone for having bad body odor.

any more than you can fire an obese person because you don't like the way they look.

Obese people are not protected by the ADA. Only in a very few places are they protected by law (DC being one of them). You are free to hire and fire people based on looks and weight, in most circumstances. As an example, would an overwight model have a cause of action if she was fired for putting on weight? Of course not.

1. Smokers are not a "protected class" only as smokers. That does not mean that an employer can fire an employee for any behavior related to smoking, however unrelated to performance or workplace hygiene. If an employer chooses to hire a person it knows to be a smoker, it cannot then turn around and fire that person solely because of increased insurance expenses.

2. Bad body odor is a hygenic issue directly impacting on the quality of life for workplace employees, and in retail environments, the need to attract business customers. These are rational, objective considerations upon which employment decisions may turn. An employer must decide whether the smell of smoke on an employee's breath or clothes is acceptable - or not, and the rule, once made, can't be applied discriminately - made to apply to one employee and not another.

3. You ask "would an overweight model have a cause of action if she was fired for putting on weight?" Well, if the person in question is a model, or a firefighter, or a professional dancer: probably not. In such cases, the person's weight has a reasonable relationship and direct bearing on their ability to do the job. For most average cubicle-dwellers or cashiers, that's probably not the case.