Nicotine Test

[NurseDianne]

I'm not sure if this has been brought up or not and I'm curious if other hospitals do this........

There is a hospital in South Georgia that if you are a new hire they do a test, blood, to see if you have nicotine in your system. If you do they will not hire you and offer for you to come back and re-test in 30 days.

My husband smokes and he works there as an agency nurse, wehen we are between assignments, so is by-passed.

Anyone know if any other hospitals do this?

If so, how is this legal. I understand smoke-free facilities and policies, but as far as I know smoking is not illegal.

Let me hear you take on this.

Nurse Dianne:typing

[hypocaffeinemia, BSN, RN]

i'm pretty sure that he was referring to the post in which you stated, "finally you got something right."

but i digress.

anyway, i have heard of hospitals doing this. what i want to know is, did they also test all of the employees hired before to the beginning of the testing? are volunteers in this category? and what about physicians?

also, where is the line going to be drawn? i don't smoke, but i am overweight and my cholesterol is high (due to several factors, all of which are controllable except my family history). so i think i bring a great deal of expense to insurance companies as well. (so does my history of severe depression and all of the treatments that have come with it).

and what if you're using a nicotine patch because you're quitting smoking? wouldn't your nicotine levels be increased then as well?

ugh.

*~jess~*

the line will be drawn when either a federal or state law makes employment discrimination based on preexisting health conditions illegal, or market forces result in reduced supply of potential employees.

i'm not a big fan of negative health discrimination, but i'm all for employer insurance plans giving discounts to those that maintain a healthy lifestyle (maintain a healthy weight, non-smoking, maintain a hgba1c below 7, etc.).

[Atheos]

Well, they can't discriminate based on certain things. If it is not one of those things they could pick any number of criteria.

They'll go so far as they can if it helps, or they think it helps, their bottom line...

[morte, LPN, LVN]

money...bottom line......smokers cost more in ins....are absent more....do to health issues...more likely to "catch" whatever resp inf comes thru the door.....

[girlr6RN]

I believe they're a no-smoke facility so they can get lower rates on their health insurance for their employees, not that they don't want you to smoke per se.

[big-chicken]

Here in MA, you cannot be hired as a fire-fighter if you smoke. This is due to health/life insurance. If you are seen smoking "outside of work" you can be fired from the fire department. This relates to fire-fighters that aquire lung-cancer from work hazards like smoke, chemical fires, etc.

When this became law, they provided a grand-father clause for the older fire-fighters so you have this double-standard. The old guys can smoke on their breaks, but the newer hires can be fired for smoking at home/off duty.

I thought this type of nonsense only happened in MASS, but I guess the rest of the country is following MASS crazy precedent.

big-chicken

[Altra, BSN, RN]

This is perfectly legal. A growing number of companies in all industries and, interestingly, the World Health Organization (WHO) do not hire smokers.

[bagladyrn, RN]

money...bottom line......smokers cost more in ins....are absent more....do to health issues...more likely to "catch" whatever resp inf comes thru the door.....

Would you like to share the source of the research on which this statement is based? I'd really appreciate links if you have them.

[Iam46yearsold]

Smokers at work decidedly take more breaks than non smoking nurses. We all see it every day. Nothing new. I have seen nurses become smokers just to take more breaks. Now I am decidedly a non smoker. I hate the smell of it, and it clings to everything. I truly am nauseated when I smell cigarette smoke on nurses I work with. I hate to work a sick a patient when I have a smoker in there with me.

So hospitals and corporations that decide to not to hire smokers. This is alright with me. In fact I strongly favor it. Im not going to discuss risks, or behaviours or such. I just cant stand the smell of it.

Someone mentioned marijuana earlier, I forget who. Now the smell of marijuana doesn't bother me at all. I don't partake of it. But I do favor legalization of it.

[Quickbeam, BSN, RN]

A few years ago there was a lot of press about a Michigan business owner who decided to hire only non-smokers and do the testing pre-hire. His reasons were financial and r/t health care costs. I had read that this was challenged and he won (at least in Michigan).

[iwanna]

This is probably a dumb question, but I'll risk it. What if a person is on nicotine patch? Will the patch be low enough for the cut off to test positive for nicotine?

[MB37]

Wow. I smoke, and I wish I didn't. I don't smoke when I'm working, so I won't take any additional breaks. I've cut down significantly from my carton a week habit. I also don't smoke in my house or in my car, so my scrubs will never smell like smoke. Smoking cigarettes is still legal, just as drinking alcohol is. It seems that employers should have the right to regulate what you do while you're on the clock, but that as soon as you leave the building you should be able to participate in any legal activity that you so choose. I know we don't have a constitutional right to smoke, but we do have an implied right to privacy...I'm also sure they don't test physicians, since most aren't hospital employees. They'd better be testing all housekeeping, maintenance, and food service staff as well!

[Atheos]

This is probably a dumb question, but I'll risk it. What if a person is on nicotine patch? Will the patch be low enough for the cut off to test positive for nicotine?

I'd assume they would still deny you with minimal nicotine. I am not sure how much nicotine is in a cigarette but the 14mg patch satisfies me and I smoke a pack a day so I am pretty sure it will pop on the test.

Patches are not less nicotine, they are basically the same amount of nicotine eventually tapered off.