Nobody hates the smell of secondhand smoke more than I. Seriously. Perhaps it's rude, but whenever assaulted with the scent of a cig, I conspicuously waft my hand in front of my nose as if my entire face were just doused in gasoline and lit on fire. And don't even think about holding my baby if you smell like an ashtray. Well, you can think about it. But it's not gonna happen. I don't want her within a 50-mile radius of that shit. But, vehement stance against smoking and its disgusting aroma aside, I don't think someone should be fired for smelling like smoke.
Stephanie Cannon has smoked almost a pack of Camel Menthols a day for the past 18 years. She got a job as a receptionist, ironically, at the Frauenshuh Cancer Center in Minnesota. Before starting, she learned that it was hospital protocol to not smoke anywhere on the premises, a rule by which she obliged. But six weeks into her stint, she was told by her boss, "We don't want you smelling like smoke when you come here." Okay. Pretty understandable. It is a hospital after all.
But then, she was fired.
Cannon says that she went above and beyond to avoid smelling like smoke. She stopped smoking on her lunch breaks, avoided doing it in her car, kept her work clothes sealed in a plastic bag and sprayed them with air freshener before going in. But still, nothing. According to Cannon, eventually, she was told to "avoid her husband in the morning" because he too is a smoker. And when that didn't work, she got the boot.
Now. According to Minnesota law, you can't be fired for doing something that's not illegal on your own time, like smoking -- which would make Cannon's termination against the law, right? Well, maybe. See, under this same law, employers actually have the right to restrict the use of legal products like tobacco if they feel it's creating an job-related hazard. So, yeah.
Being that this is a free country and all, I really am not for firing someone for doing something perfectly legal, no matter how gross it is, on their own free time. But, on the other hand, the second part of that law sort of does make Cannon's firing legal. So then I guess my question is: If it is legal to fire someone for smoking in Minnesota (if it's hazardous), and the hospital didn't want an employee who smelled like smoke, why hire Cannon in the first place? And moreover, if the job was so important to Cannon, why not just try quitting?
What do you think of this?
Image via Fried Dough/Flickr
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Comments 65
I agree with your whole article... except the last sentence. Being an ex-smoker myself, it is so much harder than you know to quit. A job is not usually a reason to go through withdrawals, be irritable at people, and want to kill yourself... Most people go through something close to drug "rock-bottoms". Mine was when my kids were younger, I actually left them inside the house alone to go on the porch to smoke. One day I came inside to find my youngest (a boy, of course) trying to drown the cat in the sink. He was "giving her a bath".. Both my son and the cat could have been seriously hurt, or killed (drowned) when I was outside for some stress-releif!
I think letting her go was the right course of action in this case. Hopefully this will make her think twice about smoking and she can find other employment that doesn't involve her being around cancer patients with susceptible immune systems.
Okay what some of you are not realizing is how many patient complaints could have come in over this. This woman was working at a cancer center for goodness sakes. I don't think they should have hired her in the first place. I think its great she tried but after all maybe she will find a better fit somewhere else. Its easy for us to sit in judgement of her being fired when none of us ever smelled her. I'm sorry but when you work in the medical field I say the patients come first.
Its not illegal to smoke. The issue here is that she stinks, not that she smokes. Let's not pretend that smokers are the only stinkers, because lots of people stink. Folks who wear heavily perfumed body products. Mouth breathers. Incontinent, infrequently washed older folks. Folks who deep fry a lot of food at home. Those who smell like their clothes/towels soured in the washer at some point. Folks who smell heavily of "ethnic" foods (I personally find the smell of curry nauseating). Folks who own multiple pets (I've met a lot of folks who smelled like kennels). I sympathize with this lady, but not stinking is just good manners. Patients at a cancer center need to be around bland smelling folks, because they're probably pretty nauseated from treatments. I like to smoke. But I don't want to smell like smoke at work or smell it in my home or family cars. Or smell it heavily on other people. This lady needs to freshen up a bit. Stop smoking in the house and car (husband, too.). Stop smoking in your work/good clothes. Use an e-cigarette during work hours. Maybe shower in the AM and PM. Or work someplace where smelling smoky is OK.