Work smoking policies & NET

[TX Foilhead]

First a little back story. New policy at work this year no more smoking on the property or in vehicles. I work for a large electric utility and this includes all offices as well as plants, substations, lines ect. No big deal, it got me to give E cigs another try and thanks to Nickoticket I found some juices that are so good that I've had no desire to go back. I did continue to smoke when I wasn't at work for the first month.

Second part of the new policy was that smokers will have to pay an extra fee for insurance, this starts next month. This is a bit weird because if you take the approved anti-smoking class then the fee is waved and you can continue to smoke. You have to to take the class once a year. My original plan was e cig during the day and I would take the class and continue to smoke. Once I quit I didn't feel like going through the hassle of the class since I no longer needed it.

Now the issue, had to fill out the form today and checked the non smoker box, then there's some stuff about have you ever smoked and how did you quit. Then it finishes up with 'you may be tested and charged all additional fees' for lying on the form.

So now I'm wondering what kind of test they use and how does NET play into this? I've had no desire to smoke, I actually have a couple of packs of smokes still. I'm not worried about going back, but I am concerned that the NET may register on a test and I could get hit with a large unexpected bill or worse?

 

[Scottitude]

Went through this last November.

Depending on your employer, it's either a saliva swab or urinalysis. They're screening for cotinine, an alkaloid by-product of nicotine. Smoked, chewed, patched, vaped, it doesn't matter; even minimal usage will test positive.

I was using 6mg and it took me almost 8 weeks of zero nic use to test negative using medical grade saliva test kits.

The test kits aren't cheap but may be worthwhile to save $150 per month, which is the tobacco surcharge my employer's insurance carrier assesses against all who test positive for cotinine.

ETA: NET will most assuredly test positive on a cotinine screen

 

[TX Foilhead]

If that's the case then I guess the only thing to do is to sit through the class. I hate dealing with HR so I haven't talked with them yet. The whole thing is pretty weird since you can continue to smoke and take the class and everything is alright. I would just hate to be the one they choose to make an example of.

Anything else anyone has heard of them testing for?

 

[poobear]

The company I work for has not tested anyone yet, but if you come up with something that like (cancer) then they will test you i have had it on my non smoker for 10 years and nothing yet, but each company is different, but i smoke 0 too.

 

[Scottitude]

It isn't logical that they'll waive the tobacco surcharge if you simply take a class without reducing/eliminating your nicotine consumption.

Make sure you are fully and accurately informed. These policies and the way they are often presented by the talking heads from HR are often intentionally vague or misleading.

Check, double-check, and re-check the details.

 

[TX Foilhead]

I know, the whole thing makes no sense, but it's a gov't agency so there are a lot of things that don't make sense.

I believe that it's 2 separate policies. 1 being that someone high up decided that smoking is bad after having a loved one die from a related disease. The insurance thing is seperate. They pay someone to handle the paperwork, but they foot the complete bill for the insurance so it's not quite the same as regular insurance. I believe this is the reason the new policy is a little strange. Being out in BFE there were far more people who dipped than there were who smoked, I would guess it was at least 3:1. Most of those who dipped took the class and continued on, I haven't talked to anyone else who actually quit doing anything.

 

[Kent Brooks]

If you are vaping anything other than 0mg and get tested, you're going to come up dirty. Because the process of implementing testing is costly, I doubt that most companies would do a test UNLESS there is some event that would give them reason... like, if you came down with an illness that is typically exacerbated by smoking. I'm an integrity guy so I'm not going to elaborate on the in's and out's of "beating the system" - you can make your own choices there. My personal feeling is that vaping is a totally different animal than smoking and shouldn't be "lumped" into a policy like that - but - I'm sure this is not the last time we will have this conversation. In the end, it's all about the $$$ - they want to apply a surcharge and discriminate against smokers... sucks.

 

[Scottitude]

In my case the "event" was insurance coverage. Every employee that wanted company insurance (and most did because the AHA offers no truly affordable comparable coverage) had to go through a biometric screening process that included a cotinine screen.

Many insurance companies are requiring the cotinine screens and employers go along with it because the insurance policies are contingent on pre-screening.

The real rub is that most carriers refer to it as a tobacco surcharge so even though I've been smoke-free for almost five years, they still considered me a "smoker".

It's moronic and I seriously doubt there's an HR talking-head (and very few "healthcare" professionals) anywhere in the country that doesn't honestly believe nicotine = smoking = cancer.



Wait, what? ECF censored the first five letters of m-o-r-o-n-i-c ?

 

[Flavored]

Not sure about the 8 weeks thing . . . I had the same test, just stopped vaping Friday afternoon, tested on Monday, no issues. Have to drink lots of fluids, and I did lots. I'm on 6mg, btw.
There's threads on ECF about it, search for cotinine and you should find them. And, no, I absolutely do not think it is cheating/lying because I'm not smoking.
Shoulda seen my car on the way home . . .