[Pontiac]

The law was enacted under a pension reform measure that automatically presumes that heart ailments for police and firefighters are job-related disabilities. The accidental disability pension provides for 72 percent of a police officer or firefighter's final salary, annuity, and allowance for dependents - all tax free.

This sounds like the result of Union activity. Likely the fire fighters and police unions wanted a bigger pension benefit when members were forced to retired for heart decease. So the legislature decided that if they were to pay out they taxpayer deserved to be assured that they were not paying for self inflicted injury.

Being that the firefighter new what the rules of the job was when he accepted the job, he has no reason to complain.

He agreed to the contract.

[sharktrager]

Not so fast. The rule just came in to effect, and impacts firefighters and policemen hired since 1988. That means the rules probably changed after he "signed on the dotted line".

I wonder if the governmental agencies were required to provide and pay for programs and aids designed to help the smokers quit. While I hate government programs, it seem to me that you should pay for it if you tell someone to do something.

I also think the heart disease issue is relatively week. If they are going to worry about heart disease they should require everyone to be fit and to maintain low cholesterol.

Besides. The guy's job entails inhaling smoke on a near daily basis. Lots of the things that burn in the average fire have toxins far more dangerous than cigarettes.