Hospital Quits Hiring Smokers, Introduces Nicotine Tests For Medical Workers

[Dana]

Smokers in the medical field now have another reason to quit as a Pennsylvania hospital has said it will no longer hire smokers and is introducing nicotine tests in order to enforce the rule.


Geisinger Health System's smoke-free health policy will go into effect on Feb. 1, according to KKTV.com.

"Not only do we want to practice what we preach, but we also want our employees to feel healthy, we want our patients and visitors to feel that they are in a healthy environment. So it's an overall commitment to the well-being of all those people," Geisinger spokeswoman Marcy Marshall told the Vancouver Sun.
Those exposed to second hand smoke will be exempt from the test, which screens applicants for cigarettes, smokeless tobacco, snuff, nicotine patches, nicotine gum and cigars.


For those who fail the test, the hospital says applicants can reapply after six months, KKTV.com reported.
According to CNN, Pennsylvania is among 19 states that allow employers to screen job applicants for signs of smoking.
While there's certainly an incentive to keep employees healthy for work, the economic benefit of having non-smokers on the payroll is also notable. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) puts a $3,391 price tag on each employee who smokes: $1,760 in lost productivity and $1,623 in excess medical expenditures.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/01/05/hospital-quits-hiring-smokers_n_1187028.html



Sound's like a good move from an ethical standpoint... How are you going to go into a Health field and be addicted to a drug? Legal or not.

 

[Natasha]

I don't see how they can do that w/o there being some type of discrimination lawsuit coming out of it. *shrugs*

Our hospitals here have banned smoking on hospital property. The employees LITERALLY have to walk to the road and stand on the curb and smoke.

 

[Staci]

we have hospitals here that make you answer the question "are you smoke free?" im assuming that if you are already hired they cant make you stop, but they can only hire those that dont from this point on

 

[Dana]

I don't see how they can do that w/o there being some type of discrimination lawsuit coming out of it. *shrugs*

Our hospitals here have banned smoking on hospital property. The employees LITERALLY have to walk to the road and stand on the curb and smoke.

A user on Facebook wrote:

Of course they can. Maine, as are most states, are at-will. Meaning, you can be fired for any reason as long as it's not discriminatory in nature. (don't start with crap about how firing smokers is discriminatory either) If you want to work there, you play by their policies. Simple as that.

 

[HK]

I don't smoke so hell, I'm okay with this.

Technically I'd say no employer should try and dictate their employee's personal habits, but in the case of a hospital, it makes sense. I guess the idea of someone reeking of fags after their break going right back into an environment full of sick people isn't very appealing.

 

[Dana]

People are getting into a debate on Facebook because people on benefits can smoke yadadada but why should hospital workers be able too. I think it's kind of funny how people let stuff like this get to them personally.

 

[Natasha]

A user on Facebook wrote:
Of course they can. Maine, as are most states, are at-will. Meaning, you can be fired for any reason as long as it's not discriminatory in nature. (don't start with crap about how firing smokers is discriminatory either) If you want to work there, you play by their policies. Simple as that

Well if a FACEBOOK USER said it, it MUST be true. :24:

One could easily argue nicotine use is an addiction...which would make it dicrimination. Any lawyer worth his weight in salt would be able to argue that one AND WIN.

 

[Dana]

I don't smoke so hell, I'm okay with this.

Technically I'd say no employer should try and dictate their employee's personal habits, but in the case of a hospital, it makes sense. I guess the idea of someone reeking of fags after their break going right back into an environment full of sick people isn't very appealing.

Exactly. While this dude was not an employee i saw a guy get out of his car today walk up to the sidewalk of the hospital and fling his cig on the ground and go inside. I had just gotten blood work done and i was waiting on a taxi... That should not be allowed either.

 

[Dana]

Well if a FACEBOOK USER said it, it MUST be true. :24:

One could easily argue nicotine use is an addiction...which would make it dicrimination. Any lawyer worth his weight in salt would be able to argue that one AND WIN.

Oh stop... I'm just making a point.

 

[Dana]

And since this news article was posted on Facebook, where else could I take it from?

 

[Natasha]

Oh stop... I'm just making a point.

As am I.

And since this news article was posted on Facebook, where else could I take it from?

I'm just saying, you can't use a quote from a FB user as a reputable source.

 

[Dana]

As am I.



I'm just saying, you can't use a quote from a FB user as a reputable source.

reputatable or not I agreed and thought it was a good point. I've always heard that a business can give you any excuse they want to get rid of you whether its truthful or not. They just can't openly discriminate against you.

 

[Kyle B]

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/01/05/hospital-quits-hiring-smokers_n_1187028.html



Sound's like a good move from an ethical standpoint... How are you going to go into a Health field and be addicted to a drug? Legal or not.

You can get addicted to anything though, whether it's a certain behavior or maybe food, amongst other things. Would if some people just like to smoke? Just as others might like to have a drink when they get home from work.

I can understand if the hospital prohibits smoking on their premises. But hiring, or not hiring people for smoking on their own time, which is legal, and their business, is a little extreme. What's to stop them from hiring nurses who are overweight or have a medical condition?

 

[Alien Allen]

bull shit laws

just have the guts to ban the damn things and make sense of all this crap

I bet within 5 years it will be a criminal offense to smoke in a car with a minor. If it is not already.

Typical govt bullshit. Skirt around a legal product making its use virtually illegal everywhere.

Before going postal on me I ask.... How many people do you know to those in the health care profession.... That have heard complaints about smoke odor on health care employees.

I don't smoke but it is beyond silly some of these bullshit laws.

 

[Aeval]

I don't see how they can do that w/o there being some type of discrimination lawsuit coming out of it. *shrugs*

Our hospitals here have banned smoking on hospital property. The employees LITERALLY have to walk to the road and stand on the curb and smoke.

It's that way here too...I know of one person that was smoking in her car in the parking lot and was either fined or was threatened with a fine, I forget exactly the end result, but the point was made perfectly clear that she couldn't smoke even IN her car on hospital property.

 

[Leananshee]

The irony of it is that the health care professions have the highest percentage of smokers amongst all career fields; I think law enforcement is second, though I'm not 100% sure on that one. They're stressful career fields, go figure.

Personally I use dissolvable snuff tabs while at work, look like lozenges, no need to spit. I don't personally have a problem with a no smoking policy while on company time and property. But a nicotine test? Well, I'd fail that because the tabs contain what? I hope someone tries to push that policy here in NC, I'd like to count the seconds before a lawsuit got filed.

 

[Dana]

bull shit laws

just have the guts to ban the damn things and make sense of all this crap

I bet within 5 years it will be a criminal offense to smoke in a car with a minor. If it is not already.

Typical govt bullshit. Skirt around a legal product making its use virtually illegal everywhere.

Before going postal on me I ask.... How many people do you know to those in the health care profession.... That have heard complaints about smoke odor on health care employees.

I don't smoke but it is beyond silly some of these bullshit laws.

It's already an offense to smoke in a car with children... You're not far off.

 

[retro]

It *is* discriminatory. I know that it wouldn't be legal in California. It doesn't prevent them from performing their job duties.

 

[anathelia]

It *is* discriminatory. I know that it wouldn't be legal in California. It doesn't prevent them from performing their job duties.

No, but it may prevent them from adequately helping someone who needs it. Is it fair that a child with asthma or a pregnant woman/preemie baby have to be exposed to someone's third-hand smoke? Just because they aren't smoking around them doesn't mean anything. If they want to smoke while they're not at work, that's fine, whatever. But wearing your scrubs and taking a smoke break while you're at work seems hazardous, reckless, and shows a potential lack of respect to the patients you have to care for. I realize this may be blowing it out of proportion to some people, but cigarettes are a touchy subject with me.

 

[Natasha]

No, but it may prevent them from adequately helping someone who needs it. Is it fair that a child with asthma or a pregnant woman/preemie baby have to be exposed to someone's third-hand smoke? Just because they aren't smoking around them doesn't mean anything. If they want to smoke while they're not at work, that's fine, whatever. But wearing your scrubs and taking a smoke break while you're at work seems hazardous, reckless, and shows a potential lack of respect to the patients you have to care for. I realize this may be blowing it out of proportion to some people, but cigarettes are a touchy subject with me.

Same argument could easily be made for hospital workers or medics who go in w/ a cold or the flu. If they're transporting nursing home patients, who are notoriously more susceptible to germs, they could literally be killing their patient.