It is unethical for companies to require employees not to smoke so that they can reduce their healthcare cost. Employers should not be motivated by reducing their expenditure and protecting their profits as a driver for asking employees to quit smoking. Their actions should not penalize smokers for their addiction by lowering health care costs. Such a move would amount to discrimination and harassment in the workplace for their smoking activity. Similarly, actions by the employer can be seen as exerting excessive control over the life of the smokers.
Actions by employers to force employees to quit smoking for financial gains by protecting their profits or reducing their cost are unethical. Such actions are driven by the intention of the company to maintain low healthcare cost and not concerned with the wellness of the smoker. Such a move can disadvantage some of the employees who are striving to quit smoking and are unable or regress in mainly because it is challenging to overcome addiction.
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The issue of trying to stop employees from smoking raises a controversial yet crucial moral issue. The following question needs to be addressed. Is it morally ethical for the employers to force employees to stop smoking? Determining whether the employer is ethical needs the application of utilitarianism. In this respect, the consequential dimension of the employers' action will determine whether they are acting ethically or not. Does the employers' action result in more good than bad or not?
Despite the benefits of the initiative to stop smoking, there are moral issues that also positively and negatively affect the smoker. If the employers’ action is to benefit the smoker, then they are acting ethically. However, if they are interested in reducing the costs and maintaining their profit levels, then their actions are unethical.
