:angryfire Is there anyone out there who agrees with me?
I work on a ward where we frequently provide palliative care for patients with cancer (amongst other things). I cannot stress how much it infuriates me when nurses who are smokers go into a dying cancer patient's room stinking of cigarette smoke.
In my opinion this is so morally and ethically wrong that I took my concerns to our unit manager after a patient's family made a complaint to me about another nurse. Unfortunately the NUM also smokes like a chimney and bla bla bla bla nothing was done.
Now that I have unloaded I feel more able to look at the situation objectively and decide on a course of action through appropriate channels.
I would welcome any and all opinions on smoking in the workplace.
(Please let it be known that I do not object to any person's right to smoke off the ward if they wish, only in the circumstances descibed above).
i work with rehab pt's-bilat tkr, laminectomies, craniotomies, cva,etc. for their safety and mobility, "our floor policy" is to escort them because they could not 'run and defend' themselves if the situation called for it. i know it sounds ridiculous, but that is what we are told but our floor directors. like i said, our hospital is not located in the safest of neighborhoods and 'code strongs' are twice/shift incedents! so we must escort...
our patients initially had to be escorted also, a block away, to allow them to smoke. however, this was stopped, as the facility felt protecting staff from second hand smoke superseded a patient's right to smoke. staff also have rights to not be exposed to harmful substances like that.
Secondhand smoke infringes on the rights of nonsmokers.
No question about it.
That is not the issue at hand. It's about employers' attempts to control what legal activity I choose to partake on my own time and in my own home. If this country allows employers to make legal activities a condition of employment they will not stop at smoking. Will overweight and/or obesity be the next target as a condition of employment?
BTW, I am a non-smoker and fully in favor of smoke-free businesses and other public venues.
And you also have the right to get up and walk away if someone is smoking around you. Hey I know you could nicely ask the smoker if they would put put out the cigarette because you are allergic or whatever. I know that I would put mine out if I was asked to (nicely). And yes I smoke.
And to the poster who said that fast food was not served in hospitals,don't bet on it. In the main hospital in my area there is a Wendy's, Chick-fil-a, a pizza place, and many doughnut shops located through out the buildings. So I guess hospitals do serve fast food.
That is not the issue at hand. It's about employers' attempts to control what legal activity I choose to partake on my own time and in my own home. If this country allows employers to make legal activities a condition of employment they will not stop at smoking. Will overweight and/or obesity be the next target as a condition of employment?
BTW, I am a non-smoker and fully in favor of smoke-free businesses and other public venues.
*First, we are both non-smokers, which agree to disagree on this issue.
Again, your example of comparison are not really R/T the issue of secondhand smoke infringes on the rights of others. Except, obesity does drive up health care cost. BTW, I'm talking morbidly obese, which causes diabetes, etc. Wait, you posted about those that choose to smoke in the privacy of there home. :smackingf Well, I say make it illegal.
If it [smoking] became illegal [never happen d/t tobacco lobbyist ], then do you feel employers would be justified in not hiring smokers?
*Again, we are both non-smokers, which agree to disagree on this issue.
And you also have the right to get up and walk away if someone is smoking around you. Hey I know you could nicely ask the smoker if they would put put out the cigarette because you are allergic or whatever. I know that I would put mine out if I was asked to (nicely). And yes I smoke.
And to the poster who said that fast food was not served in hospitals,don't bet on it. In the main hospital in my area there is a Wendy's, Chick-fil-a, a pizza place, and many doughnut shops located through out the buildings. So I guess hospitals do serve fast food.
Smokers have no right to pollute the air with carcinogens! BTW, my wife [an RN] is a smoker... so, please consider I hate the game [smoking] & not the player [smoking].
Fast Food at hospital cafeterias! Oh yea, every hospital cafeteria I've been at in Texas has the greasy grill factor to contend with... and yes I'm a health nut. However, thank goodness I like to workout, otherwise my chocolate addiction would get the best of me. :chuckle
If it [smoking] became illegal [never happen d/t tobacco lobbyist ], then do you feel employers would be justified in not hiring smokers?
No. If smoking were made illegal, dishing out the punishment for this crime is not the function or business of an employer. Obviously there are crimes that should be conditions of employment but not every crime falls into this category, nor should it.
No. If smoking were made illegal, dishing out the punishment for this crime is not the function or business of an employer. Obviously there are crimes that should be conditions of employment but not every crime falls into this category, nor should it.
Huh, well... I see your point. Although, I have an excellent driving record I do frequent the defensive driving day safety courses every couple of years d/t my heavy foot. :chuckle
Believing that all people have the right to smoke on their own time, I also believe that nurses should not smell like cigarette smoke when they come to work or anytime during their shift. Smoking is like a blanket that covers your hair, clothes, and breath. It is a smell that sticks with you throughout the day. In nursing school we were told not to wear perfume as the strong odor would offend some patients with sensitive noses. Well why don't they ban smokers from smoking on their shift to not offend these same sensitive noses??? I agree that in the hospital setting especially the cancer ward where some of these patients may have been trying to quit smoking due to their cancer from smoking, it is very offensive to the patient, family, and coworkers.
], then do you feel employers would be justified in not hiring smokers?
Jo Dirt
3,270 Posts
(I was being sarcastic!)