Tobacco.org

EDITORIAL: Memorial's smoking stand 

Memorial Hospital's decision to stop hiring workers who smoke beginning February 1 can be broadly justified as a symbolic standard for a health-care provider. Yet its challenge to traditional standards of fair treatment for employees and job applicants is a bit more tricky. Ultimately it leads to question of whether employers should attempt to regulate the private, legal, off-premises, life-style behaviors of their employees, and, if so, where to draw the line. . . .

Yet other risky behaviors abound. Many people, for example, drink too much alcohol. Others ride motorcycles, which produce a high incidence of catastrophic brain injuries and exorbitant medical costs that is often shifted to the public. One could argue that rock-climbing, hang-gliding, sky-diving, and bicycle, ATV and horse-back riding are needlessly risky.

It is imminently fair to ban smoking and other tobacco use at work, and to charge differentiated health insurance premiums. But if it is fair to discriminate against smokers by barring them from jobs on the grounds of a commitment to health, why stop there. Or better yet, why begin down that slippery slope.

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NELSON: Tennessee AWOL in war on tobacco 

This month, in its annual "State of Tobacco Control 2009" report, the American Lung Association hung a big "F" on Tennessee for tobacco prevention and control spending, with only $1.4 million spent last year. It gave the state another "F" for smoking-cessation coverage, noting the lack of cessation product coverage in the TennCare program. The Lung Association cited Tennessee as one of five states, along with Alabama, Connecticut, Georgia and Missouri, that do not provide complete cessation coverage in their state-run health programs for the poor and disabled.

Not only is smoking a critical health concern in Tennessee, it is a growing economic issue. Each year, the costs for smoking-related diseases are getting higher. . . .

It is time to address the prospect of covering smoking-cessation products and prescription medication in the TennCare program. Call your state legislators and let them know you support a smoking-cessation program in TennCare. Then contact Gov. Phil Bredesen's office and send the governor a message: Invest in smoking-cessation coverage in TennCare. It will not cost $680 million and -- as proven by the Massachusetts results -- getting people to quit smoking will save lives and save money on other health care costs.

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Area hospital employees to be tobacco-free by next year 

Summary

At a Wednesday morning press conference, officials from five area hospitals -- Memorial Hospital, Covenant Health, East Tennessee Children's Hospital, Mercy Health Partners and The University of Tennessee Medical Center -- announced that employees must be tobacco-free while at work by January 1, 2011.

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Effort To Deny Heath Plan To Smokers Dropped  

House Democratic Caucus Chairman Mike Turner is abandoning a proposal to refuse health insurance to new state employees who smoke.

Turner, of Nashville, announced on the House floor Wednesday that he is withdrawing the proposal under the "strong encouragement" of fellow Democratic Rep. John Litz, a tobacco farmer from Morristown.

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Five hospitals to become tobacco-free workplaces in Jan. 2011 

Surgical technician Carole Smith, 45, has smoked for 20 years. When she started working at East Tennessee Children's Hospital three months ago, she already wanted to quit the cigarettes.

But a new policy leaves her no choice - at least, during the workday. On Wednesday morning, Children's Hospital and all other Knoxville-area hospital systems - Covenant Health, Mercy Health Partners, University of Tennessee Medical Center and Maryville's Blount Memorial Hospital - united to announce that their facilities will be "smoke-free workplaces" by Jan. 1, 2011.

Right now, that means only that employees won't be allowed to use tobacco products at the hospitals or their affiliates. Patients and visitors will still have the right to smoke in designated smoking areas. But administrators acknowledge the employee policy, which all could agree on, is "the first step" toward completely "smoke-free" campuses; individual hospitals will choose their own timetables to take the initiative further.

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Tennessee AWOL in war on tobacco 

Smoking is killing our friends, our co-workers, our family members. It is a public health threat that we need to eradicate. . . .

This month, in its annual "State of Tobacco Control 2009" report, the American Lung Association hung a big "F" on Tennessee . . .

Not only is smoking a critical health concern in Tennessee, it is a growing economic issue. Each year, the costs for smoking-related diseases are getting higher. . . .

It is time to address the prospect of covering smoking-cessation products and prescription medication in the TennCare program. Call your state legislators and let them know you support a smoking-cessation program in TennCare. Then contact Gov. Phil Bredesen's office and send the governor a message: Invest in smoking-cessation coverage in TennCare. It will not cost $680 million and -- as proven by the Massachusetts results -- getting people to quit smoking will save lives and save money on other health care costs.

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Sources: Knoxville's major health systems to announce smoking ban for employees  

The Knoxville area's five major health systems are expected to announce Wednesday a smoking ban for employees on their hospital campuses.

Executives from University of Tennessee Medical Center, Covenant Health, Mercy Health Partners, Blount Memorial Hospital and East Tennessee Children's Hospital have called a press conference for 10 a.m. Wednesday at the Knox County Health Department to announce an unprecedented unified "health initiative related to tobacco usage."

Sources say the executives likely will announce a smoking ban for employees as a first step in prohibiting tobacco use on the health care centers' premises.

The ban may not yet apply to patients and visitors to the hospitals, who now must use specially designated areas to smoke on the hospital campuses.

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Area hospitals' employees to be barred from smoking on campus 

As the area's five major hospital systems prepare to make an announcement Wednesday regarding tobacco use, there are signs the announcement will include a no-smoking policy for employees.

Reliable sources within two of the hospital systems tell 10News that employees will be barred from smoking on the hospitals' campuses.

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Tennessee Hospital Is Hiring; Smokers Need Not Apply  

Smoking is legal -- but a hospital in Tennessee will not hire job applicants if its drug tests detect nicotine.

Wanted: health care workers. Smokers need not apply.

Beginning next month, Memorial Hospital in Chattanooga, Tenn., will do its darnedest to snuff out nicotine. The hospital will not hire smokers, and it will test all job applicants for nicotine as part of its pre-employment drug screening.

Now chew on this: Any evidence of nicotine use -- including cessation products like nicotine gum or a patch -- will make job applicants ineligible, hospital spokesman Brian Lazenby told FoxNews.com.

Current employees at the hospital will not be affected, but applicants who test positive for tobacco use will not be offered jobs and may be disqualified from reapplying for six months.

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• Tennessee Hospital Tells Smokers: You Can't Work Here 

One Tennessee hospital is sending a very clear message to its future employees: if you smoke, you are not wanted here.

Beginning Feb. 1, Memorial Hospital in Chattanooga, Tenn., will no longer hire new employees who use any type of tobacco products.

According to a statement on the hospital's Web site, anyone offered a job with the hospital will be required to test fornicotine use, in addition to the previously administered drug test.

The statement, which is located under the career section of the hospital's Web site, reads in part:

"… effective February 1, 2010, Memorial Health Care System will no longer hire individuals who use tobacco or nicotine products in any form. Memorial Health Care System and its affiliates recognize the major importance of associates' health and well being, and the responsibility of maintaining a healthy and safe environment for all associates, volunteers, patients and visitors. " (Click here for the full statement:)

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VIDEO: Local hospitals not ready to stop hiring smokers 

KNOXVILLE (WATE) -- There's controversy over a Chattanooga hospital's decision to stop hiring tobacco users.

Officials at Memorial Hospital in Chattanooga said the decision is an extension of the hospital's commitment to health and isn't based on potential health care cost savings.

"If it was easier, yes, I would love to quit," says local surgery tech David Gladson.

But like many people, Gladson says he's addicted. "I've tried to quit a couple of times and it always seems to come back to me."

But Gladson admits, applying for a job at a hospital that didn't hire smokers might do the trick. "I'd probably have to quit right there, right then, just to be able to get a job."

"I think hospitals really do need to try to lead by example," says Dr. Mark Green, chief of staff at Blount Memorial Hospital.

Green says while tobacco isn't forbidden among hospital employees there, it's discouraged.

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• AUDIO: Smokers need not apply for a job 

Starting Feb. 1, Memorial Hospital no longer will hire people who use tobacco products, making the hospital one of a small number of employers nationwide that consider smoking status in job applicants.

Under the new rule, which does not affect current Memorial employees, those offered employment at the hospital will be tested for nicotine during their required drug test, a human resources officer said. Even nicotine gum or the patch would make a potential employee ineligible.

The decision not to hire tobacco users isn’t based on potential savings in health care costs, but rather is an extension of the hospital’s commitment to health, said Brad Pope, vice president of human resources. Like all hospitals in the region, Memorial’s entire hospital campus is tobacco-free.

“I understand the concerns people have, but we are here for the health of our community,” he said. “Like it or not, what’s proven is that tobacco is the most preventable cause of death and disability in the United States. I think the Chattanooga and surrounding communities should expect this from Memorial.”

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Tennessee Flunks Most Categories in American Lung Association's State of Tobacco Control Report Card 

Tennessee flunked all but one category in the American Lung Association's State of Tobacco Control 2009 report released today.

Tennessee's scores reflect the state's failure to enact or put into place proven policies for preventing death and disease caused by tobacco use, the number one preventable cause of death in the United States.

The American Lung Association's State of Tobacco Control looks at how well states do at preventing tobacco use and helping smokers quit. The report focuses on four key areas-smokefree air, tobacco control program funding, cigarette taxes, and coverage of tobacco cessation treatments and services.

Tennessee earned a C in smokefree air and F's in tobacco prevention and control spending, cessation coverage, and its cigarette tax rate.

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"Smoking or non-smoking?"  

NW GUILFORD COUNTY - If one of your new year's resolutions was to quit smoking, the battle may be a little easier since the wispy strands of cigarette smoke that once lingered in the air of restaurants and bars across the state are now a thing of the past.

The North Carolina General Assembly approved a new law last spring prohibiting smoking inside restaurants and bars; the ban went into effect on Jan. 2. While some restaurant owners went smoke-free long ago, others waited until the deadline, fearing that the new no-smoking law will hurt their business.

Elizabeth's Italian Restaurant in Oak Ridge has not allowed smoking for about two years. Owner Tony Coppola says that overall, the smoking ban has had a positive effect on his restaurant's business. "I think it is very good," he says. "Especially if you have a family, because you don't have to have the smoke around your children."

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TN EDITORIAL: Factors conspire for quitting 

If there ever was a time to stop smoking, it's now.

There's never been more or better reasons to quit the cancer sticks -- a new state law banning smoking in restaurants and bars, the brutal cold and wind outside, the increasing restrictions on where smokers can light up, the ever-rising cost of smokes, the increasingly common refusal by employers to hire smokers. . . .

The biggest hit for smokers is the new law that went into effect Jan. 1, banning smoking in essentially all restaurants and bars in the state. Noncompliant customers can face $50 fines, while repeat business offenders can be penalized $200 a day. . . .

The frigid winter certainly is doing its part to make smoking miserable. Smokers who duck out of work or a bar for a five-minute puff have got to be thinking it's not worth it.

All the signs point to 2010 as the year to quit.

Most importantly, the decision to quit smoking will add years to your life. It's more than a resolution -- it's a lifesaver.

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