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Employers ponder tough tactics to halt smoking
Howard Weyers tried the "carrot" approach by giving his employees incentives and encouragement to quit smoking. But when that didn't work, he resorted to the stick. A big stick.
Weyers, owner of a health care benefits administrator in Lansing, Mich., gave his 200 employees an ultimatum in 2004: Quit smoking in 15 months or lose your job. He refused to hire smokers. Ultimately, he extended his smoking ban to employees' spouses and monitored compliance through mandatory random blood testing.
Weyers' method, while effective, wouldn't fly in California because the state has laws that prohibit employers from making hiring or firing decisions based on employee participation in a legal activity.
About 45 million Americans, 4 million of whom live in California, smoke cigarettes despite more than three decades of public efforts to encourage people to quit.
California, on both the state and local levels, has been at the forefront of anti-smoking efforts with laws to ban smoking in public places. A law went into effect in January that prohibits drivers from smoking when children are in the car. Still, smoking costs the state an estimated $8.6 billion in direct medical costs and $7.3 billion in lost productivity a year, according to the California division of the American Cancer Society.
In addition to lost work hours, employers have a vested interest in getting their workforce to kick the habit, given that they pay a large portion of health care costs and are the main source of health insurance for more than half the population. Howard Weyers tried the "carrot" approach by giving his employees incentives and encouragement to quit smoking. But when tha... more -
Warning: Smoking may cause baldness
...among other much more horrible limb and life threatening complications. If lung cancer, heart disease, and vascular disease leading to limb-loss and emphysema aren't enough to keep you from smoking or to get you to kick the habit, then perhaps accelerated baldness will do the trick. Sound silly? According to this report, doctors see this latest discovery as a more immediate and persuasive bit of information they can use to encourage their male patients to quit smoking. Ah, vanity. ...among other much more horrible limb and life threatening complications. If lung cancer, heart disease, and vascular disease leadi... more
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Still smoking? Watch this!
Ever wanted to see what goes into your lungs when you smoke? If this doesn't turn you off, i don't know what will.
Click link to see video! Ever wanted to see what goes into your lungs when you smoke? If this doesn't turn you off, i don't know what will. ... more -
Skate or Die
You can't teach an old dog new tricks but it's good to have a couple on the shelf when you need them. In this pod we take a look at how Warren Ray uses skateboarding to help him overcome his addiction. You can't teach an old dog new tricks but it's good to have a couple on the shelf when you need them. In this pod we take a... more
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Amaya Keeps Quitting
In her second attempt to kick butts, Amaya tries laser therapy.
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Great American Smokeout!
We all know why the 4th Thursday of November is important...but you'll be around to celebrate a lot more of those if you also celebrate the 3rd Thursday on Novemeber, by participating in the Great American Smokeout. The American Cancer Society encourages everyone to kick the habit for the day...and hopefully longer!
Are you going to give it a shot? I don't smoke...but if I did, I'd be right there with you, quitting tomorrow, and never starting again!! We all know why the 4th Thursday of November is important...but you'll be around to celebrate a lot more of those if you also cel... more -
Cigarette prices in the city are ridiculous.
I think I'm gonna quick smoking.
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The Truth About Truth
This video makes a pretty bold statement: the Truth ads are really providing advertising for cigarette companies. It's an interesting point of view, and I personally didn't give much thought to those Truth commercials besides "wow...yeah, smoking is bad"...but are the people at Truth generating results opposite of what they're aiming for? This video makes a pretty bold statement: the Truth ads are really providing advertising for cigarette companies. It's an interes... more
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Crush the Addiction- take care of your health.
Short and sweet- take care of yourself and you'll be healthy, for example- Don't smoke.
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Amaya Quits
In the first part of this on going series, Amaya attempts to kick butts before the Great American Smoke Out on November 17th.
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Quitting Smoking
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Quitting Smoking
