Smoking nurses

Nurses General Nursing

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I am not a nurse yet, but my sister-in-law is and she smokes. I smoke as well and would like to quit before even starting my classes. I heard that "you can't be a nurse unless you smoke". I feel like I am such a hypocryt for smoking and wanting to be a nurse at the same time, but I also know from reading all of the threads that nursing can be a very stressful job. I am sure that I am not the only one with this problem, but I do feel guilty. Does anyone else? Not judging in any way.

No Lisa - you have a great sense of smell. Molecules are a neat thing :-) I used to manage an apartment building in Seattle, and I could always smell if someone had been near smoking crack or heroin. It's easy to smell, and can permiate a space just as you describe. Cigarettes are legal; imagine someone trying to quit crack or heroin and they smell it. Some folks just don't care :-(

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Actually, my hospital does have rules about heavy perfume. Especially for nurses who work on an HIV or oncology floor. Theses pts seem to get queasy very easily from these scents. It's not the smell that bothers me so much with smoking. I just feel that if I am going to promote health to others that I should practice what I preach. Eating healthy, exercising and not smoking (or drinking excessively) are things I do for myself so I don't feel hippocritical when I am trying to teach a pt about lifestyle modification. I mean if someone who reeked of smoke and was obese told me that I needed to lose weight, exercise and quit smoking, I probably wouldn't take her/him so seriously. I know these things aren't easy to do, especially when we are stressed, but I feel that the end result is well worth it.

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We have a policy in our hospital, too, about perfume...but no one really abides by it.

I am very allergic to perfumes, etc. It's bad enough when I have to work with someone wearing it, but I was in the hosp. for 5 days as a pt. a few weeks ago, and let me tell you...it is frustrating to be trapped in bed with someone reeking of perfume. You can't get away from it, and then the room stinks afterward.

If it were up to me, wearing perfume/cologne would be worthy of a reprimand, even suspension if the person cont. to wear it.

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Would that we were all perfect, huh? I don't smoke, never have. My grandpa and my mom died of lung cancer - both horrible, miserable, much too early deaths. My mom didn't live to see her grandchildren grow up, graduate high school, get married...she would have been thrilled to meet her first great-grandchild.

I eat when I'm stressed out, hence, I weigh more than the charts say I should. However, my bp, cholesterol and blood sugar are well within normal limits. I exercise every day. So, to all of y'all who equate overweight with ill health - you can't always tell a book by its cover.

Smoking does smell nasty to a non-smoker. But then again, so does too much Lady Stetson or bad b.o. My biggest beef with smokers at work has already been mentioned, they, on the whole, take many more breaks than non-smokers. In some European countries, non-smokers get an extra two weeks of vacation a year because they figured that's how many extra hours a smoker smokes at work. Sounds good to me.

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I agree with the heavy perfume thing - YUCK! I'd rather smell stale cigarette smoke than that...

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No argument from me...nurses have a right to smoke and take their smoke breaks. Agree we all have our little vices..none is perfect...I do things that aggravate others....many things....LOL.

My smoking coworkers have their unique uses ...like offering to take a particularly belligerant patient down for a smoke before he starts throwing equipment at the staff...LOL. :>

Even our anti smoking policy can't head this off sometimes... unfortunately.

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If a person puts a dash of perfume on their wrist, or a guy dabs aftershave. What I fin interesting is that I can tell the folks who apply perfume to their underarms, because the perfume and their BO mix and become airborne. Then the perfume takes second fiddle to THEIR smell. Time for everyone to play dumb :-)

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Raibowskye, in what European country is that? Please, pretty please tell me! I'll stop smoking right away!

As you can tell it is not in my 2 countries, not in any other EU country that I know of.

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i am a smoker......... :imbar

it is the hardest thing to kick........

when i was pregnant and breastfeeding my partner & i gave up......but as soon as i stopped feeding, and went back to school, out came the cigs.......

i am constantly thinking about the negatives...........

1. health issues

2. setting examples (to my kids & pts)

3. the price

4. the smell

5. we always have to sit outside and freeze to smoke (i won't smoke around the kids)

6. etc

7. etc

8. etc

9. etc

10. etc

on my last few clinical placments, i made a point of not taking cigarettes to work, so when i started my grad year, i wouldn't associate my breaks with smoking.

i plan to give up january 28th........the day i start my graduation year......wish me luck!!!! :imbar

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We are all well aware of the hazards of cigarette smoking.

It's a terrible addiction and I do not recommend it.

But it galls me that" no smoking" legislation is cropping up every where.

To all who are quiitting, have quit and bewbew.

YOU CAN DO IT- GOOD LUCK!!!

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Specializes in Med-Surg.

As I am typing this, my coat is in the washer, having the smoke smell rinsed out of it. It picked up the odor in just a few minutes of being in a smokey area tonight. What a bother!

The odor does bother my allergies/breathing, as does perfume and those air fresheners everyone is spraying all over at work.

The "neutral odor" policy is pretty well adhered to where I work (except for those air fresheners!!!) because of our many chemo patients. We are encouraged to watch out for coffee breath, strong deoderants and fabric softeners, etc. I have no problem just smelling clean.

To me, whether you smoke or not is your business. We all make healthy and unhealthy behavior choices for a variety of reasons every day. What you do on your break does not make you a good or bad nurse. BUT if your stress buster has a negative impact on others, seek ways to minimize that impact please!

(I am NOT giving up my coffee habit, just popping breath mints).

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To Chrissy,

Please stop smoking. Make it your number one priority right now this minute. You need all the oxygen the air will allow in order to concentrate and do well in your studies. You need the money that cigarettes are usurping to buy your textbooks, your uniforms, your brand new shiny stethescope. You need endurance to get yourself to the gym, on a walk,, to the pool, etc to help keep your body strong for your education and your livelihood. Last but not least, you need to lead by example, and that means you have to practice health-giving lifestyle choices. Cigarettes sap your strength, they cut a gash in your finances, they present a skewed image of you and they make you stink to high heaven. Don't blame stress;stress will never go away. Make yourself credible to yourself, your classmates and your patients by being as healthy as you can be. Don't hide behind the it's nobody's business line. A healthy person is good for the planet, a sickly one, especially a person who could have prevented her illness, is a leech to mother earth. Shape up, be responsible, good luck.

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