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There was a time when a cloud of smoke meant one of two things: a passing train or a city room. But today the smokers at the great newspapers of America have been ordered to take their filthy habit to the street, and the Tribune Company has something harsher yet in store for them: Beginning January 1, smokers in its employ will have to pay an extra $100 a month for medical coverage. If they’ve signed up for family coverage, they’ll also pay extra if any dependent smokes.
The drawbacks to this new initiative are easy to spot. “Fucking Nazi Germany — if someone comes to a party at your house and sees you smoking, does he turn you in?” at least one Tribune staff writer wonders. “What’s next? People with more than two drinks a day, or bacon for breakfast?” On the other hand, this staff writer named a senior Tribune editor and a photographer who’ve decided to quit as a result of the policy. And parents of teenage smokers have been given another card to play:”You want to smoke, you pay the money.”
