Smoking

Nurses General Nursing

Published

I think we all know smoking is bad for us. Even if we do it, but should any place be able to not hire a smoker? I understand no smoke breaks and no smoking on the grounds. But you can't work here because you smoke at home! What do you think?

Ok OK...this thread has gotten a little out of hand and a little off topic...I want to appologize to those that I have offended I did not mean to directly attack you, however, I still stand by my original thoughts and comments...in the future I will make every effort NOT to offend those of you whom are easily offended...if you want to discuss this with me or you want to voice your opinion, PM me and we can discuss it then...as all of you are now aware I have many thoughts on this subject and I am prepared to defend all of them with reasonable answers....

:smokin: :nono:

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in 5 yrs OR, ASU Pre-Op 2 yr. ER.

My goodness. LOL

Up Vote Up Vote ×

i'm not a nurse yet but i am pretty allergic to the smell of cigarette smoke (i don't know the brands but some are definately worse than others) i feel that if you were working in an allergy clinic or a respiratory therapy area you shouldn't be a smoker just for the comfort and health of the patients, if you kept your uniforms on site and didn't take smoke breaks (and maybe showered on site before your shift including washing our hair) maybe it would be ok. I say this just because i have been in a situation where the smoke on someones clothing caused me to go to the after hours urgent care because i was having asthma-like symptoms. If its not for the health benefits of paitients and or coworkers, then i have a problem with management getting nosy!

Up Vote Up Vote ×

I think the Pilot forgot to take his lexapro!

Up Vote Up Vote ×

Exactly!

Up Vote Up Vote ×

Smokers are we?????:imbar

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in ICU.

Okay lets leave the blame game and look at solutions.

1) Preaching does not convert those who do not wish to be converted

2) It is better to stand by and give someone a hand over the difficult trial that is quitting smoking

3) Work to change the degree of social acceptance and we might actually stop our young people becoming addicted

4) There is one study and one only that does support smoking in certain circumstances. The study was on schizophrenia and smoking. It looked at WHY so many schizophrenics smoked and smoked excessively. It turns out there is a chemical in tobacco smoke that does help ameliorate the symptoms and the patients were self medicating - I will try to find the study later

So how to go about all this?

To best help someone to give up smoking display empathy. Show you understand where they are coming from. No guilt no blame.

There are a lot of good advice out there on how to give up but the best one by far and the one I tell all my patients, the one that got me through after 20 years of absolute addiction. The really bad cravings, those that are teeth gritting - they only last 5 minutes.

"You are stronger than five minutes" I tell this to the patient while I look them in the eye and I BUILD self esteem instead of tearing it down. MUCH better success rate.

I don't know where you are at in the US as far as social acceptance goes but I have noticed a big change here since we banned smoking from nearly everywhere. There are a lot fewer smokers now.

Oh and the other thing I tell my patients - when I gave up smoking I had enough extra cash that I could afford to hire someone for a couple of hours a week to clean house - oh boy is THAT an incentive:chuckle

Up Vote Up Vote ×

I work L&D. I think that smoke on your uniform smells awful and I've seen it nauseate some patients. If you are going to smoke, fine, but leave the smell at home. Maybe that is the idea that the hospital is going after, or maybe they ahve a financial viewpoint for the long term finances for the group insurance, as more cancer and other long term chronic illnesses are diagnosed in smokers.

-STG

Up Vote Up Vote ×

When I was a kid, my dad taught us to never discuss religion or politics! I guess now we should add smoking to that list:o

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in Med-Surg, Trauma, Ortho, Neuro, Cardiac.

Gee this is beginning to sound like the obesity thread. Don't get preachy, judgemental and critical. No one's perfect, can't we all just get along. We all have bad habits. I can do what I want to with my body. Blah blah blah. LOL

joke.

Up Vote Up Vote ×

In responce to the original post, ignoring all the name calling and breaking down of people for what they do in their own home, own car, to their own body...I find it hard to believe that a company would allow serum testing for nicotine, because on the other hand if you were to live with someone who did smoke would they not hire you becuase you have a low serum nicotine level???? THAT just doesn't make any sense.

And I used to work in a facility that banned smoking on their hospital grounds, which in one way is good, promoting BETTER health and all.

BUT here is a story from the FLIP side of things...My aunt who didn't smoke was in the hospital, a different one, and it was getting near the end, she had given up treatment, and this was it, all the family came in, which is a rather large bunch and about half of us were smokers at that time. A few of us decided to take a break and walk outside to get away for a little bit, we went well away from the entrance, it was about 8pm and here comes Barney Fife telling us that we can't smoke on campus, not even in our cars, which were at the end of the parking lot, we would have to drive off campus...You mean that even though our family member is dying and in pain, that we can't smoke, becuase that may be the way we deal with things stressful??? I was never so offended by someone in my life, who made such a HUGE deal over it, no compassion for what our family was experiencing!!!!

UGH so flip back to the old hospital I worked at...A few nurses and staff started speaking up for these families, well if that is the way they deal with stress while there family is in emergency surgery, just came in as a truama, is dying, is in pain...give them a place away from others, but close enough were they are not walking for blocks and let them do what they have done for stress...SMOKE.

We can YES be healthcare advocates and try to lead by example...but we are also HUMANS who have weaknessess, crutches, habits and ways to deal with American life as we know it.

YES I smoke, YES I am strong, YES I can quite when I am ready, but I am not yet...DOES that make me a BAD, WEAK, STUPID HUMAN???

Obviously in some minds, yes, but I prefer not to associate with those minds, I prefer to associate w/ people who don't care if I have a pack of Marlboros in my purse, and see me past that "smoke screen" for who I really am. I prefer not to be defined by my habits, but by my character, personality and integrety.

Just as a side note...I did quite 6 years ago when I had my first child, my son...didn't smoke for along time, didn't become hypocritical either...but take a wild guess at when I started again...

NURSING SCHOOL!!!!:eek:

Up Vote Up Vote ×

As much as I hate to admit it, I agree with PilotJim in many ways. I guess I would have found a nicer way to say it. I used to be a smoker and have been a non-smoker for about three months. There are several things that made it an absolute necessity that I quit:

1. I graduated from nursing school and didn't want to subject my patients to the horrible smell (NICU). Even as a smoker, I knew the smell was intolerable and my perception of the stench was only a fraction of reality!

2. I have two wonderful boys ( 7& 11 ) . (I did NOT smoke while pregnant! and never smoked in the house around them.) Both of of my boys have had several seminars in school teaching them not to smoke. My children asked me many times when I was going to quit... they loved to do it in the grocery store line as I bought cigarettes. I had told them many times that smoking was bad for them....addictive... never start.... etc. Well then I started to think about the message I was sending them. I am doing it, I'm a health professional, yet I'm telling you it will kill you. Hmmmm... I'm also telling (inadvertantly) them that I am choosing cigarettes over the opportunity to spend a long full life with them and to enjoy my grandchildren. I was risking dying an early death related to smoking and that thought was devastating to me. To have one less second with my boys is too much. Period.

I honestly got to the point that it was PAINFUL to smoke... emotionally. So anywho... quitting smoking caused me only a fraction of the emotional pain I was feeling. It was nearly a relief. Of course it sucked... many times. Only when you accomplish it can you see all the benefits. I wish you all luck...

Pilotjim... I really don't think there are many people that WANT to be a smoker. Now... I'm not saying that people don't enjoy smoking.. because for many years, God knows that I did. But deep down inside I think that most people would like to quit and finding the strength to do so is the problem. Smoking is so damn addictive. In drug/alcohol treatment the practitioners would rather deal with the offending drug because crack/cocaine is an easier addiction to treat! I think you may have hit the nail on the head about non-smokers being polite for far too long.

Lastly... if you want to smoke in your own home what right does anyone have to tell you not to. I only hope that you will respect the rights of non-smokers and:

1. Please don't smoke around your children. It sends the wrong message and there is no way around that one. It also subjects them to the diseases that second-hand smoke is well-documented to cause. My mother smoked inside the house with me. I was plagued with HORRIBLE ear infections all of my childhood as well as MANY ENT problems. Had my tonsils and adenoids out when I was nine. I hope I won't need those one day.

2. Choose not to smoke in public places even if smoking is allowed. I never smoked in restaurants and such, even if it was permitted. I just never believed that it was my right to pollute someone elses air. It never failed to infuriate me when I heard (many) a smoker say... "If they don't like it, they don't have to come here." Sooooo ignorant. Of course, I do live in the south. Perhaps it is different elsewhere??

3. Get some help... nicotine causes a horrible addiction. There is help out there.

Cheers!

Tab

Up Vote Up Vote ×
+ Add a Comment