A central Pennsylvania health system says it won't hire smokers
The vaunted Geisinger Health System in central Pennsylvania ushered in the new year by becoming the latest employer to resolve not to hire smokers.
The shift toward policies that ban smokers, not just smoking, has been growing in Pennsylvania and the 20 other states that allow it. Beginning in the 1980s with big companies such as Turner Broadcasting and Alaska Airlines, no-nicotine hiring practices have been embraced by police and fire departments, medical centers, even an Ohio casino.
Like these other organizations, Geisinger says its policy, effective next month, will reduce health-care costs and decrease absenteeism among its 15,000 employees, while encouraging healthier living.
But throwing the smoker out with the smoke is a controversial trend, one that makes even some longtime tobacco-control advocates uncomfortable.
Critics say that even if individual employers save money - data are scarce - there is no evidence that the hiring policies have reduced smoking rates or benefited the overall public health.
And if discriminating against smokers is OK, what about people with other legal but dangerous habits such as heavy drinking, overeating, promiscuity, or motorcycle riding?
"Employment decisions should be made based on qualifications for the job," said Michael Siegel, a physician and tobacco-control researcher at the Boston University School of Public Health. "Once we open the door to looking at a person's personal life, we open up the floodgates."
Federal and most state laws prohibit discrimination on five grounds - race, sex, age, handicap, and religion. Religious freedom is constitutionally protected, while race, sex, age, and disability are innate conditions, outside an employee's control.
A smoker, in contrast, "has only to give up smoking off the job in order to be eligible for employment," the antismoking group Action on Smoking and Health says.
That view "ignores the deeply addictive nature of smoking," said Jennifer Ibrahim, a Temple University tobacco-control policy expert. "We know that quitting doesn't happen overnight.
Temple University Health Insurance - News
"He was a good, solid ambassador for our program," said RB Drennan, associate professor and chairman of Temple's Department of Risk, Insurance and Health Care Management. "He was well on his way." His father spoke to KYW saying he's "completely numb"
In June, WPAHS announced plans for a four-year medical school in cooperation with Temple University School of Medicine. The school was to be located on the North Side and health insurance giant Highmark promised $75 million in scholarships for medical
That view "ignores the deeply addictive nature of smoking," said Jennifer Ibrahim, a Temple University tobacco-control policy expert. "We know that quitting doesn't happen overnight." Marcy Marshall, a spokeswoman for Geisinger, which has banned
Equally impressive was the fact that more than eight in 10 remained engaged in the program," said Gary Foster, Ph.D., professor of Medicine and Public Health and director of the Center for Obesity Research and Education at Temple University.
7 and 21 – Medicare counseling, by appointment (sponsored by the federally funded Senior Health Insurance Program). Wednesdays, Feb. 8 and 22 – Grief and loss support group (call first). Friday, Feb. 10– Bunko parties to benefit the Center,
FDA Dilemma: Melt-In-Your-Mouth Nicotine - Kaiser Health News
Dissolvables, which are made with finely milled tobacco, aren't new, but they drew new attention last year when R.J. Reynolds and Philip Morris introduced new flavors and varieties in a few cities across the country. Some health officials and lawmakers dubbed the flavored melt-in-your mouth orbs and tongue strips “nicotine candy” and complained to the FDA.
Supporters say dissolvables could help smokers “step down” from their nicotine dependence on cigarettes. Opponents say it's not clear how consumers actually use the products and who is using them. Will young people try dissolvables, develop a taste for nicotine, then graduate to smoking? Could dissolvables keep people hooked when some former smokers would have--eventually--become nicotine free?
Tobacco companies aren't allowed to promote dissolvables as a stop-smoking aid, but there's lots of Internet chatter from individual consumers who report that they've given up cigarettes or cigars with the help of dissolvables.
Rutgers University law student Gregory Conley was a smoker for eight years, but quit in August. The 24-year-old used electronic cigarettes—another smokeless product—to quit, and he says dissolvables suppress his cravings when he's in class. He likes the tobacco-dipped toothpicks and says they give him a satisfying nicotine tingle along with a hit of mint or java flavor. Right now, FDA regulates dissolvables like other smokeless tobacco. They're stocked behind the counter at convenience and grocery stores, not sold to minors and they have some of the same warning labels as snuff and chew: "Smokeless tobacco is addictive." “This product is not a safe alternative to cigarettes."
The newer products have been available in just a handful of markets so far, including Denver, Indianapolis, Portland, Ore., Columbus, Ohio, and Charlotte, N.C. The Colorado Board of Health passed a resolution asking R.J. Reynolds to remove the products from its market, but the company is not complying with the request.