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When U-Haul recently announced it will no longer hire people who use nicotine in any form in the 21 states where such hiring policies are legal, the Phoenix-based moving company joined a cadre of companies with nicotine-free hiring policies.

鲍-贬补耻濒鈥檚听聽is receiving outsize attention because nicotine-free hiring policies are more common at聽聽that are especially protective of their healthy image.

Alaska Airlines has one of the oldest nicotine-free hiring policies, going back to 1985. But at the time, a big part of the stated reasoning was that the industry isn鈥檛 conducive to taking smoke breaks.

Now, some employers are making the policy change simply citing health concerns or health care costs 鈥� even the city of Dayton, Ohio, has聽.

But the policies are raising concern around labor and medical ethics.聽, a medical ethicist at the University of Pennsylvania, said targeting smokers disproportionately harms poor people.

鈥淭o me, this is more about fair equality of opportunity,鈥� he said.

Smoking is a behavior, so Schmidt doesn鈥檛 equate it with discriminating on the basis of race, gender or sexual orientation. But he notes that roughly聽. And quitting is hard, because nicotine is highly addictive.

鈥淵ou鈥檙e basically posing a double whammy on them,鈥� Schmidt said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 very hard for them to get work, and it鈥檚 even harder for people who are already in a vulnerable situation.鈥�

of the law firm Akerman represents employers and works with them on smoking policies. She said employers are looking out for the health of their employees.

Employers do have some concern about productivity and absenteeism, she said. But it鈥檚 more about the risks of cancer and heart and lung disease.

鈥淥bviously, there are higher health care costs associated with smokers. And so many companies would much prefer to have a nonsmoking workforce,鈥� she said.

The corporate cost per smoker is聽聽to be in the thousands of dollars per year, though some experts have questioned the accuracy of the figures.

Buesing said discrimination of any kind is so taboo that employers in many states don鈥檛 realize they can reject applicants for being smokers. And it鈥檚 not allowed everywhere: 29 states and the District of Columbia that safeguard 鈥渙ff-duty鈥� activity. Many of these laws were passed in recent decades specifically to shield smokers.

鈥淚n that context, you now have protections for smokers,鈥� Buesing said of the 29 states. 鈥淐ertainly under federal law, smokers are not a protected class.鈥�

A 2017 Gallup Poll found that聽 of American smokers feel they鈥檙e discriminated against for their nicotine habit.

鈥淓ven when I was doing temporary work, people would be like, 鈥榊ou鈥檙e going on break? Are you going to smoke?鈥欌�� said Carl Carter of Nashville, Tennessee, who is currently on disability benefits and not working. 鈥淚 should have the right to do what I want to do.鈥�

It鈥檚 not that he doesn鈥檛 want to quit. He has tried eight times, most recently on New Year鈥檚 Day. But the habit is hard to beat.

Labor groups have not fought nicotine-free hiring policies, but Edgar Ndjatou, executive director of the advocacy nonprofit聽, calls smoker hiring bans 鈥減roblematic.鈥�

鈥淪omeone who uses tobacco could potentially have some form of disability,鈥� he said, adding that addiction could be protected under the Americans with Disabilities Act. 鈥淚 would argue that these types of bans have to be reasoned.鈥�

Ndjatou and other critics ask, what鈥檚 next? Will nicotine-free hiring lead to more policing of worker health?

IT administrator and vaper Scott Bales thinks so.

鈥淚 think that it鈥檚 interesting that they are demonizing one over the other, and I鈥檒l specifically use alcohol,鈥� he said on a vaping break outside his office in Nashville. 鈥淗ow can you ban one substance without banning the other one?鈥�

The American Civil Liberties Union has come out against nicotine-free hiring, calling it 鈥渄iscrimination.鈥� The organization is critical of other forms of what it calls 鈥渓ifestyle discrimination.鈥�

鈥淪hould an employer be able to forbid an employee from going skiing? or riding a bicycle? or sunbathing on a Saturday afternoon?鈥� an ACLU聽 asks. 鈥淎ll of these activities entail a health risk.鈥�

But companies rejecting smokers point out that tobacco is the聽 and lung disease. And the employers are the ones who will likely have to pay much of the health bills.

Still, attorney Buesing doesn鈥檛 expect the U-Haul announcement to unleash a flood of similar policies. She said rewarding healthy behavior is still seen as the most palatable approach by many employers.

U-Haul said its policy will not apply to existing workers. The company employs 30,000 people around the country, with 4,000 at its headquarters. U-Haul will screen new hires and require them to consent to future drug testing for nicotine, though it鈥檚 unclear how that would affect workers who use nicotine gum or patches.

鈥淭his policy is a responsible step in fostering a culture of wellness at U-Haul, with the goal of helping our team members on their health journey,鈥� chief of staff Jessica Lopez said .

U-Haul declined an interview request.

This story is part of a partnership that includes , and Kaiser Health News.