Smokers need not apply?

[RainMom]

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?

[Bortaz, MSN, RN]

I quit smoking after 26 years as a heavy smoker. I didn't realize the extent to which I stank when I was a smoker until about 6 weeks after I quit (cold turkey, as a Valentines Day gift for my wife...). I was sitting in a chair just inside the door of a Sprint store. This chubby old dude came in the door, surrounded by a large swath of cigarette funk that you could almost see.

I looked at my wife, who promptly told me "That's what you smelled like until 6 weeks ago..."

What an eye-opener that was.

I also had the local Catholic priest approach me one day, and offer to help me quit smoking. I asked him how he knew I smoked, as I hadn't been smoking in his presence. His answer: Son, EVERYONE knows you smoke.

[MrChicagoRN, RN]

Welcome, Obamacare!

Sent from my HTC One X using allnurses.com

Give us a break. This trend began years ago, long before anyone ever heard of Barack Obama

[DoeRN]

Give us a break. This trend began years ago, long before anyone ever heard of Barack Obama

Same here. This policy started a long time ago at my old job. Back in the early 2,000's. At that time the smokers had to pay a higher premium and right before I left which was back at the end of 2011 they were making the smokers take cessation classes. Nothing to do with Obamacare.

Sent from my iPhone using allnurses.com

[dansamy]

Give us a break. This trend began years ago, long before anyone ever heard of Barack Obama

Some people fail to read thoroughly.

Let me repeat myself. Obamacare is the current scapegoat for all the ills of healthcare. In 5-10 years, it will be something else.

Sent from my HTC One X using allnurses.com

[Amnesty]

if you want to work you better stop smoking. soon you better lose weight tok. and save the "genetics and thyroid excuses". mandatory mile runs for all. better be under a GENEROUS 15 minutes too! that is probably next on the list. i don't see anything wrong with that either, after all you can choose to quit ot not work at such a facility. employers can choose to hire who they want for any reason unless they are discriminating against a protected group and even then........

Getting into the weight arena is an entirely different story, and one that isn't nearly as clear-cut as smoking. I'm a pretty good example of that. I run and have been running for months now. I could very easily do a mile in under 15 minutes. I have no affects of being overweight that would interfere with my daily life. My blood pressure is fantastic, and I'm very fit. The only health care I'd like to seek (and can't because I'm uninsured) is to test my thyroid and see whether it's part of the reason I'm doing everything right but still am unable to lose any more weight.

There are exceptions to fat causing a definite decrease in the quality of a person's life and also costing health insurance companies more money. When I come into work and I'm fat but I can still do my job perfectly well because I'm physically active and make good eating decisions, how does that affect the patient negatively? It doesn't. And I can't help that my body physically won't lose any more weight despite the mountains of effort I've tossed at it.

Comparing these two things is going apples to oranges, and it doesn't work.

[Do-over, ASN, RN]

I understand that it is hard, but it is not impossible. People can "just quit". I did, others have.

I don't think anyone has said it was easy, but I have done MUCH harder things in my life.

[ready4nu]

Anyone else find it funny that drug addicts and alcoholics are mollycoddled and defended as "victims of a disease" but smokers are openly and happily bashed for their addiction??

Yep. All the time. You can pickle yourself all weekend but don't let me find out you smoked a cigarette. Ha.

[canned_bread]

Interesting comment you brought up. The previous hosiptal I worked at designated no smokers area for staff, so smokers had to go off campus (A bit of a walk during a 20 min break!) to smoke. My current employer does have a small smokers area for staff, and smokers must wear gowns over scrubs/uniform so the smell doesn't stick to the clothing. I think the world is really turning anti-smoking!

[uRNmyway, ASN, RN]

Did you guys see that the lady with throat cancer who did that ad for the CDC a while back, putting on wig and makeup and voicebox, well she ended up with brain mets and just died.

Jus' sayin my beloved nursing buddies who puff on those darned cancer sticks....

[elkpark]

Interesting comment you brought up. The previous hosiptal I worked at designated no smokers area for staff, so smokers had to go off campus (A bit of a walk during a 20 min break!) to smoke. My current employer does have a small smokers area for staff, and smokers must wear gowns over scrubs/uniform so the smell doesn't stick to the clothing. I think the world is really turning anti-smoking!

The world (at least, the US) is "really anti-smoking" -- the smokers just aren't really getting that yet.

[Horseshoe, BSN, RN]

My current employer does have a small smokers area for staff, and smokers must wear gowns over scrubs/uniform so the smell doesn't stick to the clothing. I think the world is really turning anti-smoking!

I'm not understanding how making sure a health care employee doesn't return to her patients smelling of smoke is a bad thing. The fact that your employer even provides you with a place to smoke is actually the opposite of "anti-smoking" in comparison to most places, which not only forbid smoking on premises, but won't even hire someone who tests positive for nicotine.

[tinyonern]

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.