Of course smoking isn't work related. My point was that if the employer has the right prohibit anything known to be a health risk, where does it become intrusive.
Draconian work rules and conditions contribute greatly to job related stress, and could actually increase medical insurance rates due to more claims.
P.S. I am a non-smoker, so this is not about smoker's rights. It is about the extent to which employers can intrude on employees private lives.
I'm a non-smoker too.
Yesterday some called me a liberal because I was wondering if the ADA could cover this. In my defense, let me say, I didn't write the law and I think it places burdens on employers and increases their costs.
As a lawyer, I saw people who, in my opinion, were being treated unfairly by a situation that sets a bad precedent. And so I was just trying to think of ways to help them, using laws that are on the books.