I suspect you have a pack of Winnie blues shoved under your Bonds singlet A_W.
I cannot see though, in all seriousness, why this is deemed acceptable. Health risks? Naturally. That's why smokers and drinkers will pay more for health cover. Infact, so will people with a family history of cancer. Or heart disease. So will the people who
choose to drive a high powered car, like your garden variety V8. People who choose to do many things suffer the consequences of their choices in insurance and the like. Risk however comes from many places. That's the beauty of living in a free society though, we can choose to wrap ourselves around a telegraph pole if we want from a high speed accident, or smoke ourselves into an early grave. We can spend every weekend lighting up the barbie, 3 eskies full of ice and 6 slabs of piss. Throw on some steak, side it up with some homemade coleslaw and other artery clogging foods and we're set. Do it every weekend til we're laying on a bed in the Royal Prince Alfred hospital waiting to be carted into the operating room for a quickie quadruple bypass. Aren't we lucky?
An employer though, has no right whatsoever to selectively cull staff or hire on the basis of personal choice. Has anyone heard of, or familiarised themselves with the laws of EEO? That's Equal Employment Opportunity. Learn it. Just incase one day an employer decides you are too gay, too hispanic, too short, too old, too fat, too at risk of dropping dead from a heart attack or too blonde to be hired. Or yet, too whatever to have your employment continued with your respective companies.
We're damned lucky to have these precious laws protecting us all - that's why we're the lucky country...Oh hang on, that exists in Australia...we're talking about America here aren't we. Guess you guys luck out. You're not covered. Too gay, too hispanic, too short, too old, too fat, too at risk of dropping dead from a heart attack or too blonde to be worth EQUALITY.
Personally, I don't care if smokers have to pay more. I am so fucking sick of encountering smoking everytime I walk by a store entrance or go to a restaurant or bar. We need more states to pass laws to keep smoking out of public places. Smoking is the only legal substance that I know of that is dangerous in moderation, both to the person engaging in the activity and those around them. Fast food, while bad, is not THAT bad in moderation. Same with alcohol. Just a couple cigarettes a day is harmful to all within the range of the smoke.
