Smokers need not apply?

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So I've reached my 2 year mark & getting a little restless, toying with the idea of moving into a different dept or facility. I was looking at a website for another hospital & they have posted that they will no longer hire anyone that uses nicotine which will be screened for during the employment physical. Not an issue for me, but I found the bold underlined statement a little jarring. I understand that in healthcare we want to promote healthy lifestyles, but dictating personal legal habits to employees is a bit of a push don't you think? Is this common in other areas & just reaching my neck of the woods?

So refusing to hire a smoker is ok because cig smoke clings to clothes and bothers others. What about perfume? I have had asthma attacks triggered by perfume, never by the scent of smoke!! And what about vapers? That can be a nicotine product, so if tests positive what recourse do they have? And what about obesity? Bigger Health risk than smoking and just as obvious. So in the future you won't get hired if you're obese, have high pressure, smoke, have high cholesterol, have Type 2 diabetes (because you're obese)... Think about it.

I have never worked at a hospital where it was okay to wear perfume. If nurses are wearing perfume strong enough to cause an asthma attack, that is something that should be addressed on your unit.

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Oh but I am sure that WHEN marijuana becomes legal in all states, it will be just fine & dandy to smoke it

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I am not a smoker but I was one awhile back. And our hospital has went to non hiring smokers or tabacco users. In away I agree and in away I don't. It is true that smokers seem to get to go out side and have a real break but us non smokers don't have that option. And I agree that maybe blood testing for alcohol should be brought up.

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I don't have a problem with the smell of smokers, even as an asthmatic..however, what I CANNOT handle is those who insist on wearing excessive amounts of perfume and colognes..you know the type,..you can smell them before they arrive and long after they leave. Their :Scenting: closes up my throat and cause me at times t go into an asthmatic attack. If you are going to touch on smokers, please address this as well. All is fair in love and war:)

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Oh but I am sure that WHEN marijuana becomes legal in all states, it will be just fine & dandy to smoke it

Well, liquor is legal but you can't drink at work. :) I imagine it will be pretty much the same.

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I agree, we can't drink while at work and drinking is totally legal, we shouldn't be able to smoke at work either. Smokers smell and they leave you to take care of their crap. I had to work with a nurse who would leave me ALONE with 5 patients for 45 minutes or more because she just HAD to go have a cigarette. We worked in an area where there had to be two employees at all times because it was so isolated, but she didn't care, she broke the rules all the time so she could have her fix. Unsafe for the patients and unsafe for the employees who are now left with 5 patients and no help if someone should suddenly crash.

I'm fed up with smokers who don't think or just don't care that it bothers other people. We CAN smell it, despite the lotion, the mouth wash, the perfume. Smokers who say they don't smell are just lying, and those who SAY 'gee, I didn't know you smoked' are lying to make you feel better. I don't know how often I get into an empty elevator at work and it reeks of cigarette smoke because a smoker has been in it. They didn't have to smoke there, they just had to ride in it. Smokers in general are inconsiderate. They don't care what they do to themselves, to others around them, even to their own kids who don't have a choice. I've seen kids come in to the ICU intubated because their parents refused to stop smoking around them. At that point, it's not just killing the smoker, they are killing others as well.

Smokers have no business in health care. How are they going to tell a patient they should stop smoking when they themselves smoke? Bottom line? They don't. So they can't fully educate the patients.

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I live in Arizona, and as far as I can tell, all the major hospitals are now non-smoking campuses. Seeing how smoking is the major reason behind so many health problems and the reason for the very high tax and cigarettes and cigars, it makes sense. As far as it being a right, many places are non smoking, and some corporations, after a study of lost productivity due to smoking some years ago, have either gone non smoking or discourage it. There was one court case where one home owner complained against his neighbor saying their smoking was bothering him, even if they were smoking on their own patio; the judge ruled in favor of the complainant. Smoking just isn't cool or "sick" anymore.

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If a doctor is concerned about a pediatric patient, whose parent(s), smoke, the physician can contact CPS. They have the child removed from the home and placed in foster care, until the parents quit smoking, and have the house cleaned, and fumigated, to rid it of smoke odor. It is the only fair thing to do for the child.

I am surprised that the physician has not involved Social Services with the parents. They have the authority to do that.

JMHO and my NY $0.02

Lindarn, RN, BSN, CCRN (ret)

Somewhere in the PACNW

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I agree, we can't drink while at work and drinking is totally legal, we shouldn't be able to smoke at work either. Smokers smell and they leave you to take care of their crap. I had to work with a nurse who would leave me ALONE with 5 patients for 45 minutes or more because she just HAD to go have a cigarette. We worked in an area where there had to be two employees at all times because it was so isolated, but she didn't care, she broke the rules all the time so she could have her fix. Unsafe for the patients and unsafe for the employees who are now left with 5 patients and no help if someone should suddenly crash.

I'm fed up with smokers who don't think or just don't care that it bothers other people. We CAN smell it, despite the lotion, the mouth wash, the perfume. Smokers who say they don't smell are just lying, and those who SAY 'gee, I didn't know you smoked' are lying to make you feel better. I don't know how often I get into an empty elevator at work and it reeks of cigarette smoke because a smoker has been in it. They didn't have to smoke there, they just had to ride in it. Smokers in general are inconsiderate. They don't care what they do to themselves, to others around them, even to their own kids who don't have a choice. I've seen kids come in to the ICU intubated because their parents refused to stop smoking around them. At that point, it's not just killing the smoker, they are killing others as well.

Smokers have no business in health care. How are they going to tell a patient they should stop smoking when they themselves smoke? Bottom line? They don't. So they can't fully educate the patients.

A bit uppity, eh? You really shouldn't lump all smokers into one category. Your last paragraph was rude and presumptuous. If smokers don't belong in healthcare, then neither do people who drink or are obese. How is an obese nurse going to teach me about healthy food choices? (according to you)

I am in the process of quitting smoking, for the third time. This is the longest I have gone so far and I think I'm going to make it this time. I have been cigarette free for 3.5 weeks. I can assure you that in my nursing career I was probably harder on my patients for smoking than most other nurses. But here's the thing, I truly knew where they were coming from. I educated in a non judgmental way and was able to offer suggestions based on my own experiences. For you to presume that smokers never educate on this subject makes you reek of ignorance (pun intended).

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Specializes in Short Term/Skilled.

I am glad that a lot of you know everything there is to know about smokers and how they are and why they do what they do. Judging someone for a bad habit is so helpful and kind. I bet it will make all of us put down our cigarettes right this minute and say "wow I"ve been so naive this whole time, it really IS easy to quit". I hope none of you ever come across something you have to struggle with or have any bad habits you'd like to break.

Not all smokers are the same. Not all of us act the way many of you describe. Not all of us smell like smoke all of the time. That's why you don't know we're smokers, and the reason we hide it and don't speak up for help or encouragement from our co-workers or even sometimes our friends or family is because of the Judgmental stereo-type surrounding it.

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Agreed. Our hospital is a non smoking campus, but we still hire employees that smoke. I understand and support employers for not hiring smokers. It costs them more money in health insurance and can affect your coworkers and patients. It stinks, and for some people can be extremely irritating/make them sick. I think that's what differentiates smoking from obesity and alcohol use. Smoking affects those around you, while as long as you are physically capable of your job and don't come to work with alcohol in your system, it doesn't affect your coworkers/patients (albeit still increases health care costs to the employer).

BOLOGNA! Co-workers that are hung over and those that are obese do affect me when I have to pick up their slack for slow and poor performance. And is isn't for a 15 minute break... it's the entire 12 hour shift. There are also smells from obese co-workers and hung over co-workers that make me sick too!

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Specializes in Critical Care, ED, Cath lab, CTPAC,Trauma.

I find it sad that in this age of rights and freedoms and fighting for others to have rights and freedoms in other countries that we have less and less freedoms here accompanied by intolerance and bigotry

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