Add another to a growing list. And it's really a no-nicotine policy. We e-smokers will test positive in saliva or urine tests for cotinine, a byproduct of nicotine consumption and the easiest way to test for smoking. We could not e-smoke and be employed in this county. This is a HUGE problem for those switching from real tobacco, and its known health hazards, to safer e-smoking.
From The Miami Herald:
If you smoke or use tobacco, don't bother applying for a job with Escambia County government.
Starting Oct. 1, the county will have a tobacco-free hiring policy. All applicants for county jobs are currently required to take a drug test, which will be expanded to include testing for tobacco use. Any applicant testing positive for tobacco will not be eligible.
It's one of several policies county commissioners approved Thursday aimed at improving the health of employees and to get the county's health insurance costs under control, said John Weber, a human resources supervisor for the county who specializes in employee benefits.
The county also is enacting a 50-foot smoking ban from the entrance or exit of any county building on Oct. 1. In two years, no county employee will be allowed to smoke anywhere on county property.
Keith Reinke, 50, of Pensacola, is a smoker who owns his own concrete polishing business. He's not sure what to think about the new tobacco-free hiring policy.
''I guess it's their option to do that; it is getting to be a matter of affordability. [Health costs] are so expensive you can't hardly blame them,'' Reinke said. ``But what's next? You can't have a beer. Alcohol is bad for you, too. It's starting to walk a fine line. Smokers are an easy target.''
From The Miami Herald:
If you smoke or use tobacco, don't bother applying for a job with Escambia County government.
Starting Oct. 1, the county will have a tobacco-free hiring policy. All applicants for county jobs are currently required to take a drug test, which will be expanded to include testing for tobacco use. Any applicant testing positive for tobacco will not be eligible.
It's one of several policies county commissioners approved Thursday aimed at improving the health of employees and to get the county's health insurance costs under control, said John Weber, a human resources supervisor for the county who specializes in employee benefits.
The county also is enacting a 50-foot smoking ban from the entrance or exit of any county building on Oct. 1. In two years, no county employee will be allowed to smoke anywhere on county property.
Keith Reinke, 50, of Pensacola, is a smoker who owns his own concrete polishing business. He's not sure what to think about the new tobacco-free hiring policy.
''I guess it's their option to do that; it is getting to be a matter of affordability. [Health costs] are so expensive you can't hardly blame them,'' Reinke said. ``But what's next? You can't have a beer. Alcohol is bad for you, too. It's starting to walk a fine line. Smokers are an easy target.''