Employers are allowed to discriminate against smokers

Employers are allowed to discriminate against smokers

European Parliament member Catherine Stihler put a spotlight on the issue last week when she questioned the executive about it, commission spokeswoman Katharina von Schnurbein said.

Stihler, a Scottish Labor lawmaker, was responding to constituents' reports of an Irish call-center's job advertisement that said "smokers need not apply."

The number of smokers in the 25 EU nations and five EU candidate states dropped to 27 percent of the population last year, down from 33 percent in 2002, according to EU figures, the AP reports.

Ireland enacted a smoking ban in enclosed workplaces in 2004.