Hispanic Times Magazine: Attention Smokers: Kick The Habit Or Risk Lower Job Ratings

People who smoke at work are likely to be marked down on job performance because of it, reducing both the probability of their promotion and their income. This information was determined following several surveys, including an Air Force base in California, a naval facility in Florida, and a manufacturing firm in Michigan.

The finding is particularly significant to the Latin American population, because the numbers of Hispanic smokers are considerably higher per-capita than for any other ethnic group in this country.

"Employees who smoke are rated lower on key performance measures by their own leaders than those who do not smoke," said Ron Gilbert, a management professor at Florida International University in North Miami. Since 1989, Gilbert has studied the performances of thousands of supervisory and non-supervisory workers in both civilian and military organizations.

Likewise, Gilbert indicated, "those who smoke simply enjoy that taste of cigarettes. Or they feel smoking makes them look sophisticated. Some claim that cigarettes calm their nerves; while others even claim cigarettes help them think more clearly.

The main reason people smoke is that smoking quickly becomes a habit -- an addiction. Tobacco products contain a drug called nicotine, which is a deadly poison. When tobacco smoke is inhaled, nicotine in the smoke passes through the tiny vessels in the lungs into the bloodstream. The drug reaches the brain in seconds, making the smoker feel relaxed yet alert. Cigarettes also contain other chemicals which harm the body.

The main reason that people smoke is that they made the mistake of taking that first cigarette. The addiction sets in very quickly - the addictive substance - nicotine - makes it very difficult to kick the habit.

Very often smoking becomes a habit, and the body becomes so used to the nicotine that the individual finds it hard to do without it. Thus, smoking becomes ritual. It becomes an automatic reaction.

Nicotine is not the only chemical reacting upon the smoker's body. To make cigarettes, tobacco leaves are dried and shredded, then rolled into tubes. The smoke from burning tobacco contains more than 4,000 gases and chemicals, many of which are poisonous.

HEALTH HAZARDS

It is rapidly becoming common knowledge that poorer job performance, more absenteeism, and greater risk of major illnesses are on the plate of the smokers among the workforce.

People who smoke suffer more instances of major illnesses, and recover more slowly than non-smokers. The cigarette smoke which passes into the lungs leaves behind a sticky brown tar. This tar contains chemicals known to cause cancer.

Smoking can also lead to cancer of the mouth and throat. It can cause other breathing problems. The body produces mucus to try to protect itself from the effects of tar. This can sometimes clog the air passages and the lungs, so they can no longer work properly. This disease, emphysema, can be fatal.

In addition, nine out of ten deaths from lung cancer are caused by smoking. Smokers also run the risk of developing heart disease. Nearly one-quarter of all deaths from heart disease are caused by smoking. With damage to the mouth, throat, bronchial tubes, lungs, and heart -the effects of smoking are devastating.

WORKPLACE RISKS

Smoking makes people less fit. Many smokers get out of breath faster and are less likely to be able to perform athletic endeavors with the ease of non-smokers. Personnel directors are more often addressing the phenomenon of smokerism, with the realization that the person who uses tobacco products is a less fit choice for the job to be filled.

Just as age, race and gender have been identified as "isms" in the workplace, so there is a consideration being given to the anti-smoking bias -- which may negate fairness of treatment.

Another great risk from smoking is fire. Many fires are caused by cigarettes or matches not being put out properly. Many people have been killed because they have fallen asleep in bed with a lighted cigarette, and set fire to bedding. In the workplace, the threat of the unextinguished cigarette is with chemicals and materials which bum easily, and public buildings which sometimes hold large crowds - are all at greater potential peril because a "smoker" might be in their midst. There have been many deaths because people have not been able to escape these infernos.

PASSIVE SMOKING

It's not just the man or woman who uses tobacco products that is society's concern anymore. Once, it was considered a personal choice as to whether one chose to smoke. Today, it is everyone's concern!

Research has proven that smokers are not only putting their own health at risk by smoking. "Passive smoking" -- breathing in the smoke coming from other people's cigarettes -- greatly increases our chances of developing serious health problems, even if we are not smokers ourselves.

Passive smoke can make you cough, or give you a sore throat, a runny nose, or headache. It is especially harmful to people who suffer from asthma. Scientists have now shown that passive smokers also run the risk of developing the same kinds of major diseases as regular smokers. For this reason more and more people are calling for a ban on smoking altogether. These are designed to give people a choice of whether they wish to be in a smoky atmosphere or not.

Although most offices and businesses have restricted areas for smokers, there are actually complications which arise from such workplace prohibitions on smoking. Professor Gilbert stated that "since employees can't smoke at will, they are more than likely to go through a withdrawal phase, which may make them edgy and nervous until they have another cigarette."

"Workers are forced to leave their work areas to smoke," he added, "where they congregate with other smokers and are observed together -- increasing the stigma of non-smoking fellow workers toward them."

Gilbert pointed out the irony of the nonsmoker vs. smoker situation. He showed the uniqueness of the fact that if we took any other socially based group and had them standing together so people could see them -- it would be seen as an unfair practice, and it would probably not be tolerated.

Another phenomenon which has been an outgrowth of the smoking issue is that apparently the further you go up the organizational ladder, the less likely you will find people who smoke. This fact has been documented by the study conducted at Florida International University. The explanation put forth by experts is that "Executives reason that people who smoke are not taking care of themselves and are probably involved in some self-destructive behavior."

This workplace issue will not go away. The cigarette industry is peddling a deadly weapon. It is dealing in people's lives for financial gain. Smokers everywhere are playing a game of Russian roulette.

Just as it is no longer fashionable or desirable to smoke, the evidence shows that smokers just do not perform as well, on average, as non-smokers. It is incumbent upon each individual to take responsibility for his own health. The Hispanic population -- in particular -- with a higher ratio of smokers among both men and women -needs to take a long hard look at the grim picture.

The litany of long-term effects is grim indeed! Smokers have higher cholesterol levels and higher blood pressure than do nonsmokers. Their endocrine and digestive systems do not function as well, and there is evidence that their muscle strength may be lower. Of course, smoking also complicates pregnancy and can do permanent damage to an unborn child.

In the mainstream of American life, we live and work in a social environment. Human beings have the resources to solve even the most serious problems that beset them, once they make the commitment to do so.