Smoking In The Cab

There's no actual rule as long as the passenger is over 18 years of age. It's just a crappy job on your CDL training company to team you up with a trainer that smokes/doesn't smoke like you.

Honestly, a lot of truckers smoke (more than not it seems) so it's a difficult job and sometimes it just can't be helped. Now if that's the worst thing your trainer does than you might be lucky.

Smoking is a nasty, disgusting habit and non-smoking students should not have to tolerate trainers who smoke. Smokers are literally a dying breed, get with the 21st century! There are a lot of employers that perform nicotine testing and will not hire anyone who tests positive...

Great first post - for a 3 week lurker.

Really? I mean - REALLY? Resurrect a 2 year old thread as your "grand entrance" to posting here?

Is smoking BAD for you? Of course it is - and I AM A SMOKER. Down from chain smoking, to one every 2 hours - but still a smoker.

And certain (non-trucking) companies don't hire smokers - mainly because it drives their health insurance rates way up, and they don't want to deal with the lost productivity of smokers that have to take "smoke breaks", and the higher incidence of sickness amongst smokers (versus non).

Companies are not going to FORCE YOU to train with a smoker. BUT - you may have to WAIT for non-smoking trainer.

I see both sides of the equation - but this is not the place to PONTIFICATE about it.

Regards,

Rick

I, too, wonder if any laws and/or company policies prevent pairing a smoking mentor with a non-smoking student.

Just like RV, I cannot be paired with a smoker, because I am allergic to and intolerant of the smoke itself and the odor.

Anyone from any of the Training Companies out there who could shed a bit of light on this subject?

Thanks in advance...

Steve

I know there's companies that have a non smoking policy but really a smoking test like a drug test.... Smh

I, too, wonder if any laws and/or company policies prevent pairing a smoking mentor with a non-smoking student.

Just like RV, I cannot be paired with a smoker, because I am allergic to and intolerant of the smoke itself and the odor.

Anyone from any of the Training Companies out there who could shed a bit of light on this subject?

Thanks in advance...

Steve

Don't think there's going to "a law", per se' - because we're talking many different companies, in many different states (and there's no FEDERAL LAWS that cover this).

As most people that have gone into the biz on this forum have reported - companies will do their best to accommodate. Similar to women needing to wait for a woman trainer - non-smokers may have to wait for a non-smoking trainer.

Talking with a recruiter from the companies you're interested in, may get you some better (current) answers (keeping in mind, their job is to get you into a seat) - but typically, a company will not FORCE YOU to live on a truck with a smoker (especially if there are health issues involved), but there are probably more smoking trainers than non - and you may have to WAIT FOR ONE.

Rick

I have smoked a little in the past. Found it to be enjoyable but always felt guilty as hell, because I KNEW it was very bad for me. Never really allowed it to become an addiction, I could literally feel the hook setting, I was waiting tables. When I woke up one morning, craving a smoke, it horrified me, and I quit for good. That was over 25 yrs ago. Considering that inhaling 2nd hand smoke is as bad or worse than actually smoking the cigarette, I hope to god my trainer is not a "Butthead". If my trainer does smoke, I hope he AT LEAST, rolls the window down.

just looked this up. the part about 2nd hand smoke is horrible! It's hard to imagine that people still pay almost 5 BUCKS a pack for cigarettes that absolutely KILL THEM AND THE PEOPLE AROUND THEM.

from the CDC - "Cigarette smoking is responsible for more than 480,000 deaths per year in the United States, including nearly 42,000 deaths resulting from secondhand smoke exposure." <---- say what you want, but 42,000 people die a year, because someone ELSE had to smoke. WOW!!

I have smoked a little in the past. Found it to be enjoyable but always felt guilty as hell, because I KNEW it was very bad for me. Never really allowed it to become an addiction, I could literally feel the hook setting, I was waiting tables. When I woke up one morning, craving a smoke, it horrified me, and I quit for good. That was over 25 yrs ago. Considering that inhaling 2nd hand smoke is as bad or worse than actually smoking the cigarette, I hope to god my trainer is not a "Butthead". If my trainer does smoke, I hope he AT LEAST, rolls the window down.

just looked this up. the part about 2nd hand smoke is horrible! It's hard to imagine that people still pay almost 5 BUCKS a pack for cigarettes that absolutely KILL THEM AND THE PEOPLE AROUND THEM.

from the CDC - "Cigarette smoking is responsible for more than 480,000 deaths per year in the United States, including nearly 42,000 deaths resulting from secondhand smoke exposure." <---- say what you want, but 42,000 people die a year, because someone ELSE had to smoke. WOW!!

Actually, I find this data to be quite suspicious. I am unaware of ANY peer reviewed studies that hold up to scrutiny. I am NOT advocating smoking in any way, but I have researched this and never found the CDC to actually show any credible studies.

Both the CDC and the EPA were put down by their "faked studies" based on biased hand picked info. They just "assumed" 2nd hand smoke could cause cancer as it does firsthand, without actually performing scientific studies.

I have to admit, even being a smoker 40 years , even at times, in the car with my brother. He's smoking without opening a window far enough. I will open mine, to dissipate the dang smoke! And I don't light up around non-smokers, out and about, even in casino's if those near me aren't smoking. We don't have to be inconsiderate to non-smokers. Funny how cigarette commercials were banned years ago, in print ads and TV, yet Alcohol, wasn't?? Really?? I'm sure booze kills way more people than smoking ever has. When was the last time you saw news a smoker caused a wreck killing innocent people on the highways??

Flawed Assumptions; EPA's 1992 conclusions are not supported by reliable scientific evidence. The report has been largely discredited and, in 1998, was legally vacated by a federal judge.

Even so, the EPA report was cited in the surgeon general's 2006 report on SHS, where then-Surgeon General Richard Carmona made the absurd claim that there is no risk-free level of exposure to SHS.

For its 1992 report, EPA arbitrarily chose to equate SHS with mainstream (or firsthand) smoke. One of the agency's stated assumptions was that because there is an association between active smoking and lung cancer, there also must be a similar association between SHS and lung cancer.

In 2003 a definitive paper on S.H.S and lung cancer mortality was published in the British Medical Journal. It is the largest and most detailed study ever reported. The authors studied more than 35,000 California never-smokers over a 39-year period and found no statistically significant association between exposure to S.H.S and lung cancer mortality.

Even nonsmokers with the greatest exposure to S.H.S probably inhale the equivalent of only a small fraction (around 0.03) of one cigarette per day, which is equivalent to smoking around 10 cigarettes per year. And even LESS in an open air, or outdoor area.

I know there's companies that have a non smoking policy but really a smoking test like a drug test.... Smh

Interestingly enough...

I was on pain meds a couple of years ago - and my doctor had to test me, to make sure I was actually taking the pain meds (and not doctor shopping and selling them).

The drug screen also came back positive for nicotine and caffeine.

So yes - a pre-employment drug screen (not talking about a DOT Drug Screen here), may well come back showing nicotine and caffeine usage.

Rick

When was the last time you saw news a smoker caused a wreck killing innocent people on the highways??

Actually there have been many, many fatal wrecks caused by someone admitting they were distracted trying to either light a cigarette or find one they dropped. But that's not the fault of smoking. That's the fault of careless driving.

I don't smoke and don't do well in an enclosed space with someone smoking, but I have no problems at all with someone who vapes around me (uses an electronic vapor cig) as it is essentially steam with nicotine, and it doesn't have the same noxious/nauseating effect as cigarette smoke. If I was training with a smoker I'd politely ask them if they could smoke outside the truck and I'd possibly even consider buying them a vaping setup if they would use it in the truck instead of smoking regular cigs. I would highly recommend looking into switching to vaping if you're a smoker anyway, as its much better for you and still gives you the nicotine and the sensation and action of smoking. If you're a trainer, you might also be able to get more non-smokers on your truck if you're vaping, versus not being able to with smoking regular cigarettes.