I don't smoke. I did in the past but I don't any more. If you want to smoke that's fine, just don't smoke around me. I like the idea of "No Smoking" areas and it pisses me off to see people smoking in them I complain. If I am in an area that isn't marked as "No Smoking" area and you light up then I can simply walk away or stand there and not bitch about it. To make it simple, as long as I don't have to put up with smoke in a "No Smoking" area I'm ok.

So why am I bitching about smokers again? Actaully I am on the smoker's side here. Escambia County here in Florida has announced that as of October 1st 2008 smokers will not be hired. Current county employees have until 2010 to quit smoking or find work somewhere else. Also, there is to be no smoking on any county property. And, testing for tobacco will be part of the new hire process just like testing for drugs.

I don't like this idea. Tobacco is legal. As long as it's legal I really don't think any company should be able to refuse to hire somebody that uses it. We're probably going to see some lawsuits over this.

The county's reasoning is that tobacco users cost more when it comes to medical bills. It would save the county money to not have to pay out higher medical charges on the company insurance. Wouldn't it be easier to charge tobacco users higher insurance rates and leave it at that? Other companies do.