Pa hospital system won't hire smokers

Nurse1966 · Nov 23, 2009

I appreciate you calling me out on that. I was wrong. Unemployment for everyone, baby.

Look, I didn't express my views on the topic at hand. I'm just saying that mocking someone's belief in civil rights or calling someone a lapdog is juvenile. As a nurse, after your graduate, you will find that you have to respectfully provide care for people who are very different from you, so it's better if you start learning that now. Have an opinion, but be nice, it's easy to be arrogant and mocking when you're on an anonymous board.

meluhn · Nov 23, 2009

I agree completely with you that it is the your individual choice to smoke and take the risks involved. It is also the employer's choice to choose not to employ smokers.

I agree. The employer is picking up part of the tab for your healthcare benefits, they have every right to refuse people who are putting themselves at risk by smoking. I wouldn't blame them for refusing obese people too. The military does it, why not private businesses?

nina4nursing · Nov 23, 2009

I have another concern. I am not and never have been a smoker. However, my husband is a smoker and has no intention of quitting anytime soon. If a nicotine test is done, I am sure I will show positive for nicotine because of his smoke. So am I employable or not? My guess is I am not employable, and I base this on cases that have already come up. In essence, my family's bad habits can bite me in the butt. But how much control do I have--I can't make him stop smoking. It's an addiction, and saying "well, if he loved you he would stop" doesn't apply to addictive behaviors. It's just sad that I may be penalized in the future for my choice to stay with my husband.

Very good point brought to light. Only thing is I am surprised that no one else has commented on post.

My husband is a smoker also even though I make him go outside most of the time.

Other than that all I have to say is: WHAT IS THIS WORLD COMING TO??????????:angryfire

Nina

tencat · Nov 23, 2009

Why on earth wouldn't you at least TRY to quit smoking? I appreciate that it's an addiction, and one of the hardest ones to break, but when you see our patients in the hospital yet again for their 3rd bout of pneumonia this year, or the one with the hole in her neck from cancer surgery, how on earth can you continue to think it's 'ok' to smoke???? For the record, lost my mom to smoking, and also lost a good friend, both of whom would have died with the cigarette in their hands if they hadn't been so incapacitated when they died.

Now, I think it's more reasonable to charge smokers more on their health insurance to offset the costs they WILL incur due to their habit, rather than not hiring them.

PedsDrNurseTheo, ADN, BSN, MSN, DNP, RN, EMT-P, NP · Nov 23, 2009

Fire departments are doing it all the time now. They require you to sign an oath that says you have been smoke-free for a year, and then they have the right to test you for nicotine use during the course of your employment. In fact, several departments can test "at will" for nicotine, but will only test for drugs "for cause!"

Get used to it. Smoking is the number one preventable cause of death. It is estimated that smoking costs employers about $4000 per year per smoking employee in lost productivity, sick time, and additional insurance costs - from a 2003 CDC report - current costs may be even higher.

So let's do a little math - if you're a business, and you have 1000 employees, and 17% of them smoke (that's the average) - you will pay almost 700,000 dollars a year more than an employer who does not hire smokers. That's significant bottom line numbers.

It ain't personal, people - it's business. And it's happening. It has nothing to do with a campaign to impinge on your freedoms, or rights, or whatever. Given the choice between two equally qualified employees, one of whom is going to cost my business four thousand dollars more a year - who am I going to hire?

Complaining about employers impinging on your right to smoke is like listening to some of these people complain about not being able to get a job with piercings all over their face and tattoos all up their neck. You have the right to look how you choose to look. I have the right, as a prospective employer, to judge you based on that appearance and make my hiring decision accordingly.

You have the right to live your life how you choose. An employer can choose to hire you or not, based on that.

It's how it is. Barring gross injustice - discrimination in hiring practice based on race, color, handicap, gender or the like - the government shouldn't intervene.

And if you think they should - that worries me more than any hiring practice ever could.

justavolunteer · Nov 23, 2009

I am 'justavolunteer' at a hospital in my area. All of the hospitals around here banned smoking on their grounds about 2 years ago. The rule is you can smoke only off the grounds, not even in your car if it's on the grounds. This applies to staff, volunteers & visitors alike.

I always figured before that if people wanted to go outside & freeze their butts off in winter or get rained on, that was their problem. The thing I have never understood on any job is that non-smokers are only supposed to take assigned breaks, but smokers could take all their regular breaks + run out for additional cigarette breaks. Why any employer tolerated this, I never understood, especially when it's hospital staff who leave patients unattended to smoke. As 'justavolunteer' it would not be my place to say anything about this, but it sure as heck would be management's job to chime in.

Virgo_RN, BSN, RN · Nov 23, 2009

I admit that I am biased against smoking. I despise it. However, since smoking is legal, I don't see how it can be legal to not hire people who smoke. I haven't read the entire thread, so pardon me if this point has already been raised.

SilentMind · Nov 23, 2009

I admit that I am biased against smoking. I despise it. However, since smoking is legal, I don't see how it can be legal to not hire people who smoke. I haven't read the entire thread, so pardon me if this point has already been raised.

Easy, the hospital has no legal obligation to employ you. I won't rehash everything, but it's all in the thread.

halutz_kudos · Nov 23, 2009

I agree. The employer is picking up part of the tab for your healthcare benefits, they have every right to refuse people who are putting themselves at risk by smoking. I wouldn't blame them for refusing obese people too. The military does it, why not private businesses?

Wow, I guess your are pertaining to obese people, coz as far as I am concern Military dont ban Smokers to defend this country.

ps. I am a smoker and I am a soldier.

meluhn · Nov 24, 2009

Wow, I guess your are pertaining to obese people, coz as far as I am concern Military dont ban Smokers to defend this country.
ps. I am a smoker and I am a soldier.

Yes, I was referring to weight. The Navy has specific height proportionate to weight limits that they try to enforce. My friends son was told to work out for a while so he could make the cut before they would sign him up and he wasn't even that overweight by most peoples standards.

~Mi Vida Loca~RN, ASN, RN · Nov 24, 2009

I read up through page 6.

I wish they would implement in nursing school, boy would I be a happy camper. This is coming from someone that smoked for 9 years and quit cold turkey. It wasn't easy, but it can be done. Our handbook has rules against smelling of smoke but no one seems to follow it and generally a lot of smokers don't realize how bad they smell. You become desensitized to the smell. (I know someone will say not me, so I will say not everyone) but IMO most don't realize how bad it is.

In our clinicals some people would sneak out many times to go smoke in their car. It was so gross smelling and certainly not fair to us non smokers that couldn't get the same breaks. I know I will never be able to do anything about this but I also can't stand being behind a car that is smoking and the smell comes into my car, or I have had people flick their ciggs and it land on my car and once in my sons open window!!!!!

Anyway, I am all for this! Smoking is a choice it is one of the leading causes of all kinds of diseases and a hospital is one of the the last places it should be being done at, IMO.

~Mi Vida Loca~RN, ASN, RN · Nov 24, 2009

Have you ever seen a 250 pound personal trainer that smokes?

I have LOL I also see lots of joggers stop for a smoke break, it cracks me up!