Butt Out! says Sarasota County to smokers looking for work

tampabays10.com ^ | 05/20/08 | Mario Diaz

[the invisib1e hand]

To see just how far government abuse can go, one need look no further than Florida. The west coast, especially, where "finesse" is simply not bothered with.

To hear just how arrogant and myopic a government functionary can be, simply listen to one in Florida.

[Pinkbell]

How would they know if you smoke? If you smoked at home, there doesn’t seem to be a way they would know unless they spied on you. I can see not allowing smoking inside the buildings, but not hiring someone just because they smoke on their own time is wrong. It’s the government trying to control how you run your life.

[doodad]

Rates won't go down and already they are eyeing the vending machine.

Marckinko. Nice Southern name. I wonder if he moved from say....Connecticut or Jersey?

[Arm_Bears]

I recall that, years ago, a (now suppressed) report from DHEW detailed the increased risk of an incredible range of diseases to which homosexual males were susceptible due to their “lifestyle.”

I can only imagine the screams of outrage if the same logic that is currently being applied against smokers (i.e., increased healthcare costs) was applied to the homosexual cohort.

[doodad]

And what if you don’t need their insurance?

They are doing a similar thing at my work. They know because they blood test you. They actually drew blood in the office. As office manager I told them in no uncertain terms that I was NOT going to clean or arrange the cleaning of anything if they dropped something.

[WayneS]

This is satire, right?

[TornadoAlley3]

http://www.bradenton.com/breakingnews/story/618567.html

more here

[ProfoundMan]

It’s going to be a sad future for my grand kids children - a bunch of skinny people on bikes who eat flavored cardboard and whose only joy is that they can bugger anyone or anything they choose.

Upside is that they will have developed advanced ESP since it’ll be so hard to speak to each other with the CO2 collectors strapped to their faces(and butts)all day.

Fascists...

[Tammy8]

I can only imagine the screams of outrage if the same logic that is currently being applied against smokers (i.e., increased healthcare costs) was applied to the homosexual cohort.

No kidding- that would be good watching.

[Daveinyork]

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/chi-pipe-no-smoking-convention_0may03,0,5145620.story Here’s where it get’s totally ridiculous.

[TLI]

“It's been well receive, I think most people understand the detrimental effects that cigarette smoking that tobacco use has on health” says Marckinko.

If it is so "well received" why am I reading a news article about this? If it is in the newspaper obviously there are differing opinions about how to "receive" it.

[Fox_Mulder77]

I guess they've run out of ideas on how to run a better government down there so they've come up with this great idea:

Due to higher insurance costs and the drain on productivity, many employers are now choosing not to hire tobacco users. Sarasota County has decided to adopt this tobacco-free policy to promote a healthier work force and responsible stewardship of taxpayer dollars, the press release stated.

[Wolfie]

Simple. Urine test for nicotine.

[Realism]

County officials admit that insurance rates probably won't go down, but the no-smoking ban will help keep them at their current rates for a longer period.

Self righteous AND ignorant. Likely their next major decision will be the type and proper spacing of the vegetation around the county municipal building.

[LaineyDee]

Here in Texas, most hospitals are "smoke-free"... which means you can be fined if they see you smoking in your car on the campus.

A couple of years ago the government instituted a smoke-free zone on all their facilities as well, including the State hospitals which house the psych patients. Schizophrenics are notorious smokers because it "stops the voices" for up to 8 minutes with each cigarette. (this has been proven to be true)

One of the Dr's at the hospital where I did my nursing rotation said, "I liked these patients better when they could smoke. Now they are mostly unmanageable."

Soooo.... for the sake of being PC, the gov't is willing to let a perfectly legitimate substance be banned from a population which benefits from it the most. I guess we can keep doping them more......It's less offensive, right?

[ishabibble]

Let's all make sure that we stay home on Election Day and pout because John McCain isn't exactly what we wanted.

>>“Barack Hussein Obama, May 2008: “We can’t drive our SUVs and eat as much as we want and keep our homes on 72 degrees at all times . . . and then just expect that other countries are going to say OK”<<

IT'S ONLY GOING TO GET WORSE WITH BARRY.

[freekitty]

Your freedom going, going gone.

http://transsylvaniaphoenix.blogspot.com/2008/05/british-called-they-want-their-guns.html

[Gorzaloon]

Simple. Urine test for nicotine.

)

)

)

Plaintiff, in order to comply with defendent's Non-Smoking Policy, relied on Nicorette™ chewing gum and nicotine patches, was unjustly terminated and subjected to peer ridicule and contempt, and the infliction of emotional distress.

[WayneS]

Okay.

But did I post something on this thread (or anywhere on Free Republic for that matter) which indicated to you that I was going to stay home on election day and pout?

I don’t think I did.