Smokers need not apply?

Nurses Professionalism

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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?

Specializes in Critical Care, Education.

Am I the only one that has ever emerged from a patient room and looked around only to find that everyone else is out on "smoke break", leaving me and a couple of CNAs to hold down the fort? Heck, I even remember having to stand in the hallway during report because cigarette smoke in the break room triggered my asthma. Yep, it's official - I am definitely old.

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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?

You don't have to apply for work there, so it's no abrogation of any of your rights. As health insurance has been one of employers' biggest costs for many years, this policy has been becoming more popular. Get used to seeing it.

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Glad I kicked the habit 20+ years ago. I know nobody wants to be forced to quit, but I hope it saves some of us a lot of grief. Just buried a friend who died at 54 yo who used to swear he had a right to smoke and no one could make him stop.

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A facility near me has the same policy--new hires are screened for drugs and nicotine and current employees are strongly encouraged to quit. I work in allergy/asthma so it's crucial not to have employees smelling like smoke at work. Also, I've worked in regular business offices before where people got 2 15-minute breaks, a 30-minute lunch, and smokers took unlimited smoke breaks. They'd go outside and light one (or two) up, and if a nonsmoker was lingering in the break room they were reprimanded for not being productive. It griped me to no end having to cover the phones while the smokers went outside--again.

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Specializes in HH, Peds, Rehab, Clinical.

It's everywhere! Not just nursing. My husband is a police officer, same thing. you sign a contract saying you won't use tobacco on or off of the clock.

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Specializes in NICU.

What people do on their own time is totally their business. But i agree it shouldn't be brought to work. I'll be sitting on the bus and someone will sit beside me who has been smoking and I feel like suffocating because it stinks so bad. I wouldnt want to be a patient with my nurse getting all up in my business smelling like smoke. Also, the extra breaks arent fair. I used to work in fast food and the smokers always got extra breaks...i asked if I could go stand outside too and have "fresh air" breaks and was met with rolled eyes and was told to atop complaining because smokers are "getting really tired of hearing non smokers complain." how is that fair?

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Specializes in HH, Peds, Rehab, Clinical.
What people do on their own time is totally their business. But i agree it shouldn't be brought to work. I'll be sitting on the bus and someone will sit beside me who has been smoking and I feel like suffocating because it stinks so bad. I wouldnt want to be a patient with my nurse getting all up in my business smelling like smoke. Also, the extra breaks arent fair. I used to work in fast food and the smokers always got extra breaks...i asked if I could go stand outside too and have "fresh air" breaks and was met with rolled eyes and was told to atop complaining because smokers are "getting really tired of hearing non smokers complain." how is that fair?[/quote

Awww, poor smokers! (not...)

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It is a choice.They have chosen to hire only non-smokers, you know. You can also choose not to work there. We may not support their stand, but we can respect it.

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Specializes in OR, Nursing Professional Development.

My facility started testing for nicotine and denying employment about 2 years ago. While I don't agree with regulating what legal activities employees participate in during their own time, I do agree with what they did 5 years ago- going smoke-free on all hospital property. It was very annoying to have to work harder while other people were taking smoke breaks every hour. Working in the OR, it was not uncommon for smokers to disappear between each case, leaving only the non-smokers to do the cleaning in between patients. Sometimes this even caused a slight delay in getting the next case started because the room staff would still be outside- and management did nothing to address the disappearing staff. Very frustrating.

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Specializes in Pedi.
Neither were blacks 50 years ago, did that make segregation any less discrimination?

Equating the color of one's skin with a habit that a person consciously chose and continues to choose to partake in is simply ridiculous.

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I for one RESENT my employer in my PERSONAL BUSINESS at home.

EVERY law that is passed for our own good..TAKES AWAY a FREEDOM.

We are NOT supposed to live in a POLICED STATE.

Land of the FREE home of the BRAVE....?

I'm not so sure anymore...... :cry:

Are you joking? O_o

If it just affected personal business at home, they wouldn't be making these policies. The fact is, smokers cost the system more money in health insurance and need more breaks than do other workers. No, not every single one, but I don't know many smokers who can go 12 hours and only smoke on their dictated breaks. And then they smell like smoke when they come back inside and a lot of people (myself included) are allergic to the smell of it. It definitely isn't something nurses should be bringing into a hospital with health-compromised individuals inside trusting those nurses to care for them and do no harm.

Personally (and the rest of this isn't directly spoken at you, Esme, just in general), I'm pretty happy that hospitals are putting my right to not have to come into work and deal with the smell of cigarette smoke before your right to harm yourself by smoking. Every time I catch a whiff of it, my nose instantly clogs up, and I've got mucus running down my throat within 2 minutes.

Smoking is something that hospitals can easily regulate, and it's fairly straightforward. Put simply, there are nearly no health benefits to smoking, and what benefits there are are completely overshadowed by the sheer cost of smoking, which isn't just monetary -- it also comes at the expense of the smoker's health and time.

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The smell of cigarettes is awful. Sometimes the people who complain about it have horrendous breath, some could use a little armpit (or nether region) hygiene, maybe that offensive perfume they took a bath in reaches you minutes before you even see them.

Of course nobody should have to cover for anyone else having a bad habit. But we should all leave the stinkiness at home, all of it; smoke, breath, B.O., perfumes, lotions, etc.

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