Stupid q's: Has smoking cigarettes kept you from getting a job?

Nurses Activism

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Do any of you smoke cigarettes? And has it kept you from getting a job?

Specializes in Critical Care.

I started to see that requirement and talked to some of my instructors who smoked. Where I live my state is an at will employer/employee state so in essence these practices are allowed. I am still debating whether it is right. BTW, I don't smoke and never tried but I don't know if I'm in the business of forcing others to stop something that may or may not kill them. We don't arrest diabetics so why are we doing this to smokers? This also brings to mind the abuse charges to parents with overweight kids. There are chubby kids who eventually lean out when they get older does this mean that the parents are at fault if they truly are raising a healthy child?

Yes, it has. I bet if every nurse had to buy their own health insurance- the smoking discrimination would stop. The employer wouldn't care what we do.

I remember reading some where we it is illegal to discriminate against smokers in the hiring process- I will look it up again. It doesn't come under a protected class but I think it's under hostile work environment, harassment and retailiation and discriminatory hiring practices. It might have been the EEOC.gov website.

Specializes in Ambulatory Surgery, PACU,SICU.

I don't smoke, none of the hospitals in my area hire people who do.

Specializes in Gerontology, Med surg, Home Health.

How is not hiring a smoker a hostile work environment? You have to be employed to have a work environment so if you don't have a job, there is no hostile environment.Our employees are allowed to smoke in a designated area. They always STINK when tjey come back in. It's just plain nasty.

Specializes in HH, Peds, Rehab, Clinical.

LOL, discrimination applies to sex, race, etc. ie: PROTECTED class. CHOOSING to smoke doesn't give someone that

I smoke and have been hunting for a job for quite a few months. I've found the prospective employer does not typically come right out and ask "are you a smoker?" They mention smoking in conversation and look for a reaction. At least that's been my experience so far. I neither confirm or deny. I side step. I am really good at changing the subject. But although my resume is probably at least an 8/10, I have 6 years experience as an RN in different environments. I've always interviewed well. BUT (my 2nd BUT).... I am over weight and since these darn insurance companies have become so controlling about employee "health and wellness". I have been rejected time and time again when I know good and well I had every other quality they were looking for, along with the previous experience they were looking for as well. Can't prove it but I beleive I have been discriminated against. After I shower to get ready for interview I don't smoke so that I don't go in smelling like a cigarette. Blah! I know I got a tad off subject with the weight thing. It's just real shame to pass up a person who would be a total asset to their facility/company due to smoking, cholesterol, weight etc.

JZ_RN sounds like you are talking about just plain lazy people who use smoking as an excuse. The fact that one smokes does not make them automatically a nurse who runs away from hard work and responsibilities. If you don't take a break to eat or pee thats on you.

Specializes in Pedi.
I smoke and have been hunting for a job for quite a few months. I've found the prospective employer does not typically come right out and ask "are you a smoker?" They mention smoking in conversation and look for a reaction. At least that's been my experience so far. I neither confirm or deny. I side step. I am really good at changing the subject. But although my resume is probably at least an 8/10, I have 6 years experience as an RN in different environments. I've always interviewed well. BUT (my 2nd BUT).... I am over weight and since these darn insurance companies have become so controlling about employee "health and wellness". I have been rejected time and time again when I know good and well I had every other quality they were looking for, along with the previous experience they were looking for as well. Can't prove it but I beleive I have been discriminated against. After I shower to get ready for interview I don't smoke so that I don't go in smelling like a cigarette. Blah! I know I got a tad off subject with the weight thing. It's just real shame to pass up a person who would be a total asset to their facility/company due to smoking, cholesterol, weight etc.

I have NEVER ONCE had anyone ask or say anything about smoking in an interview. And I changed jobs this year so I went on plenty of interviews. If they are asking or mentioning it to you, it's probably because they suspect that you smoke. You may think you don't smell like it but- no matter how freshly showered a smoker is- I can still always smell it on them. And "side-stepping" the question probably makes it just as- if not more- obvious. I don't know a single non-smoker who would have a problem outright saying "I don't smoke." If I were interviewing someone for a job and brought up smoking only to have the person ignore the question, I'd automatically assume I was dealing with a smoker and if the facility I was interviewing for was not hiring smokers, that would probably lead me to eliminate this candidate.

I no longer work in a hospital environment but when I did, the hospital was officially a "smoke-free" facility. Beginning about 2 years ago, smokers were charged increased premiums for health insurance. Lying about tobacco use to pay the lower premium or smoking on hospital property were both grounds for termination. As far as I know, this hospital didn't use smoking status as a determining factor in the hiring process but I wouldn't have a problem if they did... if I were a supervisor interviewing for a position and I was asked to choose between a smoking nurse and a non-smoking nurse, I'd take the non-smoker any day of the week. Especially in the environment that I worked in... the parents of the 4 year old who's puking all night because of his 24 hr infusion of chemotherapy don't want to smell a smoker nor do they want their nauseous child to have to smell a smoker all night long.

I am a smoker.. A lot of nurses and staff smoke and we are allowed to smoke in front of the building, however if there was a policy in force about where we can smoke I would follow it. If there is a pt outside or any nonsmoker I go to the parking lot. Hospitals I did my clinicals at had the no smoking policy we would have to go out to the street. I have to admit that administering breathing tx and putting oxygen on patients makes me feel like a hypocrite, but it's a disgusting addiction and you can't truelu quit until you are ready. I've never heard of nicotine testing..

I've heard of nicotine testing and I think its a total load of bullcrap. I am a "light" or "casual" smoker. I can go an entire shift without smoking.... or not smoking before work. Regardless I would fail a test for nicotine. I have no issue with employers imposing rules regarding to smoking "on campus" or coming to work smelling of smoke. One's appearance (including odor) and activities on the clock are 100% the concern of an employer. Believe it or not, many people, myself included, despite being smokers can manage appropriate professional decorum. Shocking, I know...

Until employers begin imposing rules and limitations for casual alcoholism or poor diet which MANY MANY non-smokers participate in and still very negatively impacts those individuals health care needs and costs without impacting their ability to perform, I will still think its a load of said bullcrap.

It is no ones fault but your own that you do not take a break to urinate!! As for getting "stuck with your hardest work at the most inopportune times bc of a smoke break", it is your fault that you allow your fellow workmates to tread or take advantage of you! As you "get tired of them whining", I assure they get tired of you whining about not taking care of your basic needs when you are very capable of doing so. I do agree if they voted to participate, they have no right to not contribute, there are no excuses for that! (As a smoker myself, there is NO excuse to put your patients second or to leave your fellow workmates to do your work-any degree of it- for a "smoke break". That's unacceptable!! If I go all day without a cigarette, I'm prepared by bringing "commit lozenges" with me so that I can get my nicotine without walking away from my obligations)

I happen to live in a state where employers are not allowed to "discriminate" against smokers. I found out one day while reading one of the state labor laws posters. Guess it depends on how much big tobacco contributes to the local economy/government. Interestingly enough, many of our hospitals have no smoking on-the-premises policies.

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