Drink, smoke, work, succeed?

Neither Gina nor Louise are stupid. They both know that a mouth like an ashtray and the inevitable hangovers, are only the tip of the iceberg. What they don’t yet realise is that smoking and drinking can also be bad for their careers.

Take smoking. Andrew Erskine runs a contemporary art gallery and consultancy. He readily admits to discriminating against smokers in his hiring policy. ‘For a start, it wouldn’t do much for the art if people had to look at it through a fog of cigarette smoke,’ he says. ‘And it wouldn’t be any better if my employees were constantly nipping outside for a fag. Having a bunch of people standing in the rain smoking on your doorstep – how’s that going to look? I’ll tell you: it doesn’t look good. Basically, I think it’s a nasty habit, and I don’t know why I should pay for somebody to be killing themselves on my time.’

Andrew’s concerns about the effect smokers might have on his profit margins are not unique. Researchers from York University and Guys Hospital, London, have estimated that smoke breaks cost British industry £100 million per week or £5 billion per year.

Non-smoking colleagues can be equally disparaging of their colleague’s habits. A recent survey by Nicorette revealed that 58 per cent of non-smokers think that having smokers hanging around the doorway is bad for their company’s image. Forty-five per cent of them also said they think smoking co-workers should have their pay docked for their five-minute absences.

In a growing number of American states and Canadian provinces, it has become illegal to smoke in any public building – and that includes your place of employment. Indications are that, here in Britain, we might soon be following suit. In 2001, Tower Hamlets Council in London put forward a plan to make smokers work an extra two and a half hours a week. Thurrock Council in Essex introduced a similar scheme a year earlier. Even in companies where smoking is tolerated, smokers are being marginalised.