Abstract
Using the Truth Tobacco Industry Documents Library and Congressional records, we examined the tobacco industry’s involvement with the 1990 Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). During legislative drafting of the ADA (1989–1990), the Tobacco Institute, the tobacco industry’s lobbying and public relations arm at the time, worked with industry lawyers and civil rights groups to include smoking in the ADA’s definition of “disability.” Focus was on smoking as a perceived rather than actual disability so that tobacco companies could maintain that smoking is not addictive. Language that would have explicitly excluded smoking from ADA coverage was weakened or omitted. Tobacco Institute lawyers did not think the argument that smokers are “disabled” would convince the courts, so in the two years after the ADA was signed into law, the Tobacco Institute paid a lawyer to conduct media tours, seminars, and write articles to convince employers that hiring only non-smokers would violate the ADA. The ultimate goal of these activities was to deter employers from promoting a healthy, tobacco-free workforce and, more broadly, to promote the social acceptability of smoking. Employers and policy makers need to be aware that tobacco use is not protected by the ADA and should not be misled by tobacco industry efforts to insinuate otherwise.
Highlights
The 1990 Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) is a comprehensive civil rights law that prohibits discrimination against people with disabilities and provides equal opportunities to participate in all aspects of life [1]
We examine the tobacco industry’s involvement in the ADA, : (1) legislative drafting of the ADA on possible inclusion of smokers in the ADA’s definition of disability, and (2) attempts to convince employers that smokers are protected by the ADA
Congress was poised to exclude smoking from ADA coverage, but the Tobacco Institute, together with pressure from lawyer Forscey, Congressman Bliley and civil rights groups allied with the industry, altered language in the ADA “definition” and “construction” sections so that smokers might be covered by the ADA
Summary
The 1990 Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) is a comprehensive civil rights law that prohibits discrimination against people with disabilities and provides equal opportunities to participate in all aspects of life [1]. It became law on July 26, 1990, after two years of legislative drafting and a decade of lobbying by civil rights organizations. The association between the ADA and smoking– using the ADA as a tool to protect smokers from differential hiring policies–is not an association many would instinctively make, since the tobacco industry has argued smoking is a lifestyle choice, not a disability. Tobacco industry interference with the Americans with Disabilities Act analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript The tobacco industry has a long history of working to maintain a legal and policy environment that supports use of its products and makes it difficult to implement tobacco
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