Aside from smoking in designated non-smoking areas and buildings, you can’t really get in trouble for smoking cigarettes. The tobacco industry is one of the largest in the country despite the vast amount of information available on the negative effects of cigarette smoke on the human body. Well, a Florida law firm is taking a stand against cigarette smoking by implementing a new hiring strategy.

Rogers Towers, a well known law firm based in Jacksonville, FL, is no longer hiring smokers starting on July 1, 2008. “It is strictly a decision to employ healthier workers,” explains Rogers Towers attorney Allan Geiger, “we are trying to help people be more healthy by giving them incentives to quit.” It was a decision that seems to fit in with the culture of the law firm overall.

The firm, which is involved in many activities promoting healthier lifestyles, is now taking the next step. Though the new policy will not apply to those smokers who already work at the firm, Rogers Towers does offer to pay for programs that help employees quit the habit. But starting in July, if an interviewee turns out to be a cigarette smoker, they will not get the job.

Florida has one of the lowest tobacco taxes in the country, which leads to a large cigarette consumption in the state. Over 1.3 billion packs of cigarettes were purchased just last year. But the winds of change are blowing. In 2007, Florida passed a constitutional amendment forcing state spending on anti-cigarette programs and campaigns.

The new Rogers Towers anti-smoking policy, though not aimed at infringing on others, will spark discussion on both sides of the issue. Murray Schwartz, a renowned employment discrimination prosecutor in New York sees this as a potential issue. “Since smoking cigarettes is not against the law, it is unlikely that you can judge someone’s employment potential based solely on whether or not they smoke,” he explained. He says that even though no law exists against this type of policy, it is a potential problem to even ask if a potential hire smokes cigarettes during the interview process.

This is an issue that is sure to spark ongoing discussion, but in the end it is a move that puts healthy living into the minds of more people. And for a country with a significant amount of health issues, this is a bold step that deserves our attention, if not praise. As Allan Geiger puts it, “In the end, it is really all about making people healthier.”