To address this incongruence of smoking and healthcare, some health systems have started barring smokers — even those who don’t work in clinical and patient support roles — from employment, according to an article on the Healthcare Finance News website.
By one estimate, some 70 U.S. health systems have enacted such bans, the article said. Last July, the University of Alabama Hospital started screening all new applicants for smoking and nicotine use, from physicians to food service staff, after a unanimous vote by clinical leadership to ban tobacco use for all new employees.
Part of the problem with smoker bans at healthcare institutions, according to the article, is that the policies may disproportionately impact lower-skilled and lower-paid staff.
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