SMOKING: A DRAG ON YOUR CAREER?

Smoking could damage your career. According to a survey, one-quarter of top executives and personnel directors of 100 of the nation's largest corporations said that if presented with two equally qualified candidates for a job, one a smoker and the other a nonsmoker, they would hire the nonsmoker.

The survey, done for Robert Half International, found that 70 percent of those surveyed had no preference.

The survey also found that 85 percent of companies now have ``no smoking'' areas, up from only 51 percent in 1980.