Editorial: Smoking a costly habit

Saturday, Nov. 12, 2005 | 8:59 a.m.

Voters in the state of Washington this week overwhelming approved a state law banning indoor smoking at workplaces and public buildings. Washington now joins 32 other states that have passed comprehensive laws protecting non-smokers from second-hand tobacco smoke.

The national trend against smoking is not limited to state laws. Businesses and government agencies have for years been coming up with policies on their own to clear the air. The latest national example is a surcharge being assessed on employees who are smokers. The surcharge, generally ranging from $10 to $50 a month, is added to the premiums that smokers pay through work for health insurance.

A recent series of articles by Gannett newspapers revealed the logic behind the surcharges. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention was quoted as saying that, nationally, smoke-related health problems cost $75.5 billion a year, and cost another $92 billion a year in lost worker productivity. Insurance companies are known for equating premiums with risky behavior such as drunken driving. We believe they are right to add smoking to their list.

Nevada's anti-smoking law is limited to banning the practice in video arcades and in larger child-care facilities. Clearly Nevada can do better in regulating second-hand smoke. Even grocery stores are not off limits here to smokers. Two competing initiatives, scheduled to be on the November 2006 ballot, will give Nevadans the choice of whether to remain relatively permissive about smoking or to be more strict.