It looks like folks got a little off topic on the smoking issue.  Yes,
we all know that smoking is bad for us.  I'm sure that many of you can
still sing the "Smoke is no joke" song from Saturday mornings.  The point
is that smoking like drinking and drugs is bad for you and bad for the
people and pets around you.  But due to the freedoms we share here in the
US people have a legal to do almost anything the want.  I worked for a
Chief Petty Officer who told me that quitting smoking was the easiest
thing he had ever done because he had done it many times.
 
If I remember the original issue was weather or not a shelter could
deny adopting to a person because they were a smoker.  I did some legal
research into this matter because when I used to raise birds I would not
sell to a person who smoked in their home.  But I was a private party not
an official business so I had the right to be picky about who obtained
my animals.
 
If you are a private person looking to place your pets in a home you have
the right to be choosy.  But if you are a organized shelter who gets
government tax breaks or funding you could run into problems if you deny
adoption to people because they are smokers.  Smoking is now classified
as an addiction and is considered in some places a disability.  To deny a
person who smokes can be considered the same as discrimination against a
disability.
 
If the party in question claims that they only smoke outside this is
easily proved during a home inspection.  There are telltale signs of an
indoor smoker by looking at the ceiling above table lamps as well as
when you sit on the sofa or chairs.  There will also be ash trays in the
house.  If they already have ferrets stick your nose in the fur.  The
oil in the fur will pick up cigarette smoke so will will know if the
person is being truthful.
 
If the person is an indoor smoker you do have the right to deny adoption
because of the health risk to the animals but if they are truthfully
outdoor smokers there is no danger to the household and because they are
taking measures to keep the addiction to a confined and safe area this
is considered steppes to control.
 
I used to be a foster for a animal protection society located in NC.  I
was fostering a young female dog for them for about six month.  During
the first month of fostering I found out a nice couple wanted to adopt
her.  The filled out the papers and left.  Several weeks later I asked
the manager of the society what ever happened to the couple and I was
told that they as well as several others had been turned down.  When I
asked why they told me they they were not comfortable with the
relationship status of the couple because he was a Marine and they had no
children.  They were concerned that should the women become pregnant that
the dog would be neglected.  The other applicants had similar BS reasons
for being turned down.  The African American family was turned because
they were not comfortable with the husband.  What if something happened
and he got laid off.  I felt that it was more of a color/race issue.
 
So yes you can deny adoption to a smoker but be careful that you don't
get sued or turned in for discrimination.
 
Peace
 
Wendy H.
Harmony House
[Posted in FML issue 5035]