Vapng medical professionals would be a great example to their patients. It's a pity you guys feel like you have to be secretive because of silly bureaucratic policies.
Medical professionals who vape!
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Although there are state and federal laws keeping employers from discrimination, smokers are NOT a protected class by law so the employer can refuse to hire or terminate if its in employment agreement to not use nicotine.
Some states have laws protecting smokers that might help in a lawsuit covering legal use of anything outside of employment place and work hours.
I'm currently a medic(re: occupational first aid attendant w/ mobile treatment center) taking my physiology and whatnot courses online while saving up for nursing - funny thing about medics is that we're the one medical profession that's expected to smoke, at least around here. It's given me a lot of opportunities to teach people about vaping, and I think we can all agree that that's a good thing.
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Topdogie nailed it.....smokers are not a protected class. And in healthcare, where the "brainwashing" of big pharma and anti-tobacco is as big as it is in any other industry, there is very little tolerance for employees using tobacco products.
I understand the no smoking while at work thing....I cannot stand the smell of cigarette smoke on people, especially since I have not smoked in over 3 years. However, I do believe it is an infringement on personal rights and liberties to be told what I can and cannot do outside of work.....and have to submit to a urine and or blood cotinine test to prove to my employer that I do not use nicotine. I am honest and do not sign the nicotine free waiver on my insurance because ecigs are included in the banned substances list for qualification as a non-tobacco user. I pay $60 more per month on my health insurance because of this. I basically ignore the form, do not sign anything, and therefore do not get a $$ discount on my insurance. This way, I am basically pleading no contest.....I am not trying to be dishonest and trick the system for a discount, yet I am also not admitting that I use what our health system considers a tobacco product. Nobody that I work with has ever smelled cigarette smoke on me, and I would be shocked if any of them had any clue that I was a smoker for 16 years.
It becomes a "blend in" game. Don't ask, don't tell. There are a few people who I would be honest with because I have become close friends with them, but I won't do so until I finish grad school and leave my current position. It really sucks that I cannot be honest and open with the people I spend a lot of time with at work, but I have a great supportive spouse in my vaping adventure.
I understand the no smoking while at work thing....I cannot stand the smell of cigarette smoke on people, especially since I have not smoked in over 3 years. However, I do believe it is an infringement on personal rights and liberties to be told what I can and cannot do outside of work.....and have to submit to a urine and or blood cotinine test to prove to my employer that I do not use nicotine. I am honest and do not sign the nicotine free waiver on my insurance because ecigs are included in the banned substances list for qualification as a non-tobacco user. I pay $60 more per month on my health insurance because of this. I basically ignore the form, do not sign anything, and therefore do not get a $$ discount on my insurance. This way, I am basically pleading no contest.....I am not trying to be dishonest and trick the system for a discount, yet I am also not admitting that I use what our health system considers a tobacco product. Nobody that I work with has ever smelled cigarette smoke on me, and I would be shocked if any of them had any clue that I was a smoker for 16 years.
It becomes a "blend in" game. Don't ask, don't tell. There are a few people who I would be honest with because I have become close friends with them, but I won't do so until I finish grad school and leave my current position. It really sucks that I cannot be honest and open with the people I spend a lot of time with at work, but I have a great supportive spouse in my vaping adventure.
Paramedic here... Recently switched from ambulances to working on an offshore oil rig with a 150 man capacity. I vaped in my clinic all day long until I cam out again Thursday and was told e-cigs are restricted to the two smoking areas. Now I smoke in my room, in the back of my infirmary behind a curtain... and in my room after 6pm.
I have already gave away and sold several ego kits since working offshore. I cam out with 3 starter kits from fasttech to give away or sell at cost this time out. I know a few of the guys asking about e-cigs just ran out of smokes... I tell them if they decide to keep the starter kit to bring me 20$ when they come back to the rig. So far everyone has paid up, not one person has returned the equipment ( the second option I give them )...
I have already gave away and sold several ego kits since working offshore. I cam out with 3 starter kits from fasttech to give away or sell at cost this time out. I know a few of the guys asking about e-cigs just ran out of smokes... I tell them if they decide to keep the starter kit to bring me 20$ when they come back to the rig. So far everyone has paid up, not one person has returned the equipment ( the second option I give them )...
That's awesome! Good to know I'm not the only medic in the oilfield giving kits away to get people to quit, too. We make enough money that we can afford to be caring, hey?
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Szot: A recent (2013 I think) court ruling allows companies to do this. Something about being able to protect their self interests. I'll see if I can find a link.
EDIT: Can't find it, I think I'm wrong on this specific. But it does seem that federal law DOES allow for discrimination against nicotine. But then you have specific state laws about it too, pro or con. Obviously I'm not a lawyer though, so I don't know how all of this interplays.
List of currently smoker protected states: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Smoker_Protection_Law
Although it also depends on if you live in a "Right to Work" state. VA is a right to work state so as long as you are not a protected discrimination class, you can be fired for any reason.
EDIT: Can't find it, I think I'm wrong on this specific. But it does seem that federal law DOES allow for discrimination against nicotine. But then you have specific state laws about it too, pro or con. Obviously I'm not a lawyer though, so I don't know how all of this interplays.
List of currently smoker protected states: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Smoker_Protection_Law
Although it also depends on if you live in a "Right to Work" state. VA is a right to work state so as long as you are not a protected discrimination class, you can be fired for any reason.
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Hey there!
I'm a certified pharmacy technician working at a chain retail pharmacy. I just recently hit my one year mark since I made my complete transition from smoking to vaping. Back in September, I moved to a different city to live with my bf and began working at a new store for the same chain. Before I moved, my boss was ecstatic that I quit smoking! She always wanted to hear updates and news on e-cigs.
Because the New Year is about to start, prescriptions for Chantix and nicotine patches have increased dramatically. I wish I could tell our patients: "Try e-cigs! They're a miracle." Unfortunately, it's not my place to do so.
There is a lady whom I see quite often and she's always got an eGo hanging on a lanyard around her neck. If we're not too busy, I'll chat with her about flavors and gear.
We recently hired a new tech who smokes and I'm trying to introduce him to e-cigs. I know his family struggles to pay bills, so maybe I'll pick him up a starter kit for Christmas.
I volunteered to work New Year's because the pharmacy is closed on Christmas, but the store is open. Store policy is that if a tech doesn't work a shift on Thanksgiving or Christmas (at the nearby 24 hr store) or New Years, you have to sign up to work a 6 hr shift on one of the days in the store. I'd much rather work an 8 hr shift on New Year's day than a 6 hr shift on Christmas.
I'm a certified pharmacy technician working at a chain retail pharmacy. I just recently hit my one year mark since I made my complete transition from smoking to vaping. Back in September, I moved to a different city to live with my bf and began working at a new store for the same chain. Before I moved, my boss was ecstatic that I quit smoking! She always wanted to hear updates and news on e-cigs.
Because the New Year is about to start, prescriptions for Chantix and nicotine patches have increased dramatically. I wish I could tell our patients: "Try e-cigs! They're a miracle." Unfortunately, it's not my place to do so.
There is a lady whom I see quite often and she's always got an eGo hanging on a lanyard around her neck. If we're not too busy, I'll chat with her about flavors and gear.
We recently hired a new tech who smokes and I'm trying to introduce him to e-cigs. I know his family struggles to pay bills, so maybe I'll pick him up a starter kit for Christmas.
I volunteered to work New Year's because the pharmacy is closed on Christmas, but the store is open. Store policy is that if a tech doesn't work a shift on Thanksgiving or Christmas (at the nearby 24 hr store) or New Years, you have to sign up to work a 6 hr shift on one of the days in the store. I'd much rather work an 8 hr shift on New Year's day than a 6 hr shift on Christmas.
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This reminded me that it's also the time of year that the cigarette companies send out their dollars off coupons in their effort to keep smokers from realizing new year resolutions to quit smoking.
We'll I may not be a medical professional I do work security for our hospital. The hospital I work for sadly classifies e-cigs as a form of tobacco and are not allowed. However I was introduced to them by of my fellow officers and what started out as a way to quit smoking turned into an amazing hobby but also keeps me away from analogs. Through my journey of using e-cig secretively at work (well as secretive as possible) I try to persuade others to look into making the switch. I have found one other doc that vales as well. It's not to see that not all of them frown upon it. Happy vamping everyone.
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Good info with that link..I live in Massachusetts which is not a protected state nor a "right to work" state but no hospitals require an employee agreement not to use nicotine...also I own homes in Florida another non protected state but IS a "right to work state" (basically means NO unions allowed) , and they too also do not require employee agreements regarding nicotine... I for one would never work for any Nazi company that required such a personal invasion employee agreement..and I own a few businesses myself (restaurant, sports bar, Harley dealership, gov consulting firm, vape shop, construction and flipping houses, etc, and couldn't imagine even requiring my employees to adhere to MY rules when away from the workplace...that's going way overboard and as close to being OWNED as humanly possible..I would drive 100 miles just to work elsewhere and keep my personal freedoms.... next, companies like that will tell U what color clothes to wear and what food to eat..
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I like your approach! I wish employers around here would have that same thought process. All the hospital systems here have a nicotine policy in place, unfortunately. 3 of the biggest employers all have the no nicotine/no hire if you use it policy. Really sucks when you want to work at the big hospitals in town that have the highest acuity/most experience to gain professionally. Pretty soon, the only option for new hires that use nicotine will be to either quit completely or work for nursing homes. It is beyond ridiculous.
Ricci2424: as much as i see security on my floor, they are pretty much part of the psych floor family. I really appreciate our security staff. Im not a very big guy so when patients get violent, by myself i can only stall a violent patient, so im very happy when security arrives.
LPN charge nurse at a long-term care facility and I work with a lot of Alzheimer's patients. Getting a few of my coworkers into vaping at the moment and I vape in my med room and only complaint I get is when I try a flavor with an odd smell.
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I stand corrected...it appears there are about 7 small hospitals in the state of Massachusetts that stopped hiring tobacco users....But the other 100 or so larger well known hospitals, appear to allow it either off campus or 25 feet away from any building, but provide smoking cessation classes for employees..
Massachusetts Hospital Association | Hospital Honor Roll
Massachusetts Hospital Association | Hospital Honor Roll
I am a psychiatric nurse ( is "nurse" also correct for male?^^) on a psychiatric ward and also work as teacher in the nursing scool. I never had problems with vaping, during the day i go to the smoking area, in the night i vape also at the ward itself - just because for some people it maybe looks confusing 
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My dentist is the one who got me started with vaping. After an extraction, it would be extremely painful to smoke an analog, and he sent me home with a disposable and the advice to take advantage of the next few days to make the transition ...
It worked, 8 months now without tobacco, after 46 years of smoking, and no desire to backslide ...
In a perfect world, health care professionals would already have documented evidence of the benefits of vaping over smoking, in addition to their own observations of patient recovery ...
By the way, my dentist is in Mexico ...
It worked, 8 months now without tobacco, after 46 years of smoking, and no desire to backslide ...
In a perfect world, health care professionals would already have documented evidence of the benefits of vaping over smoking, in addition to their own observations of patient recovery ...
By the way, my dentist is in Mexico ...
In New York, smoking is prohibited by state law on hospital grounds, so for hospitals with a large campus it can mean quite a hike to get off hospital grounds to light up. The law does not address vaping however. Interestingly the law does allow an exception for nursing home residents who can smoke in an outside designated smoking area on facility grounds. My hospital does not do an employment test for nicotine or cotinine (yet), and I don't even know if there is a policy regarding vaping, but I've never seen anyone in the hospital or on the grounds vaping. I'm interested in finding out, but I don't want to risk my job by asking HR and being suspected of being a 'nic addict'. I'm happy to help proselytize vaping to any and all who are interested, just not at work; if I were in a specialty in which I came in contact with adult patients I would have no problem recommending vaping to those who smoked, but as virtually none of my patients smoke (they are babies for the most part), it's not an issue that I can really address professionally.
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