What if they vape?

[TxParamedic]

Nicotine Tests Could Cost Fla. Medics Their Jobs

 

[bmwjen]

My mom lost her job at a texas hospital because she vaped. The hospital had no policy on vaping, so they adopted one. This is a large hospital system in houston. My mom is a licensed medical professional.

Her job loss is what led me to find ecf.

sent from my always glamorous Android using Tapatalk

 

[Vocalek]

Left comment:

If employers want to test whether their employees are smoking, the most accurate test is exhaled carbon monoxide. Robert Pooner is absolutely correct. Tests for nicotine in the system don't reveal how the nicotine got into the system. Many people got hooked on smoking because it enabled them to pay attention, concentrate, and remember things, and/or because it reduced agression, depression, and anxiety. Switching to a smoke-free alterantive allows such people to reduce their risks of smoking-related disease by up to 99% while retaining their cognitive abilities and emotional health.

In reviewing the evidence presented by over 20 years of research on Swedish smokers who switched to low-nitrosamine snus, Dr. Neil Benowitz found there is no evidence that nicotine causes or promotes cancer and does not appear to increase the risks of heart attacks or stokes. The employees who rely on nicotine's beneficial effects can force themselves to stop using nicotine, but then they will not be able to perform their jobs because they can't focus their attention on the task at hand and make numerous mistakes, regardless of their best efforts to be vigilent. It is also difficult to be a model employee when you are struggling with emotions that you can't control such as feeling angry, sad, or nervous all the time. It is not in the best interests of either the employee or the employer for the employer to insist on nicotine abstinence instead of being satisfied with smoking abstinence. Everybody loses with policies like these.

The nicotine prohibitionists do not WANT to believe that trying to go without nicotine makes some folks dysfunctional. They want to believe that "withdrawal" symptoms are time-limited and mild for everyone. They call people using nicotine for therapeutic purposes "addicts." This places the blame on the person who becomes dysfunctional without nicotine and relieves the prohibtionist of any responsibilty for negative outcomes. If you deny that the victim is a victim, you can't be accused of blaming the victim.

 

[Eddie.Willers]

Comment left

Nicotine Testing - More Speciousness
The idea of equating a nicotine test with smoking is nonsense on stilts.

These tests actually look for the presence of cotinine, a nicotine metabolite. But, as others have said, nicotine can also enter the system by NRT patches, gum, tobacco dissolvables, e-cigarettes, even nicotine-rich foods such as tomatoes and eggplant.

Which leads to the logical conclusion - the presence of cotinine in the body does not necessarily mean that the nicotine came from inhalation of burning tobacco.

 

[TxParamedic]

See! This is why I brought this to the forum! Smart people hang out here!

 

[izabella]

Left comment:



The nicotine prohibitionists do not WANT to believe that trying to go without nicotine makes some folks dysfunctional. They want to believe that "withdrawal" symptoms are time-limited and mild for everyone. They call people using nicotine for therapeutic purposes "addicts." This places the blame on the person who becomes dysfunctional without nicotine and relieves the prohibtionist of any responsibilty for negative outcomes. If you deny that the victim is a victim, you can't be accused of blaming the victim.

I want to take away their coffee!

 

[rainkeltoia]

considering the amount of medical professionals needed in both this country and our northern neighbor, this is beyond ridiculous. Some great comments left!

 

[Vocalek]

Comment left

I love the phrase "nonsense on stilts"! LOL

 

[bryansthl]

My wife works at a hospital and there insurance will pay for the e-cig starter kits if an employee or family member of an employee chooses to switch to them. I got one of my first kits free.

 

[afrazier5]

And the source of the original article: Nicotine Tests Could Cost County Employees Jobs - Orlando News Story - WKMG Orlando

 

[LeeHO63]

I want to take away their coffee!

That would defo give them some perspective and hopefully empathy

 

[DebiMax]

If they had any of the above to begin with, these stupid rules wouldn't be in place!

 

[dee5]

My wife works at a hospital and there insurance will pay for the e-cig starter kits if an employee or family member of an employee chooses to switch to them. I got one of my first kits free.

That is both awesome and amazing! We can only hope that more in the medical profession (including those in the corporate half) will follow them.

 

[Vap0rJay]

Left comment:



The nicotine prohibitionists do not WANT to believe that trying to go without nicotine makes some folks dysfunctional. They want to believe that "withdrawal" symptoms are time-limited and mild for everyone. They call people using nicotine for therapeutic purposes "addicts." This places the blame on the person who becomes dysfunctional without nicotine and relieves the prohibtionist of any responsibilty for negative outcomes. If you deny that the victim is a victim, you can't be accused of blaming the victim.

We should tell the prohibitionists that we'll stop all nicotine which is a legal drug... once they win that whole war on illegal drugs first. HAHA

Wait what, never gonna happen?!??!? Well there ya go!

 

[Pheisty]

Why is it that alcoholism and other drug addiction is considered an "illness", but nicotine addiction is not?

 

[Pheisty]

That is both awesome and amazing! We can only hope that more in the medical profession (including those in the corporate half) will follow them.

I have a few calls in to some e-cig dealers to get discounts for our employees. (I'm a Human Resource Manager.)

 

[tranced]

We should tell the prohibitionists that we'll stop all nicotine which is a legal drug... once they win that whole war on illegal drugs first. HAHA !

Since 1/2 of our prisoners were kidnapped and are being held on drug charges, what would we do with all the empty cages if we stopped the drug war?

 

[cigarbabe]

Nicotine should not be classed in the same way that illicit drugs are.
They are not even close to being in the same category and I resent being called a "junky" because I use a pv.
No one is robbing a cab driver, liquor store or mugging someone to get money to "get well" nor are they stealing from a friends house to get some o' that "nicodemon drug".
You can't get arrested for driving under the influence of the "nicodemon" either.
It really is insane, but mostly it's just sad that it carries the same stigma to some folks.
C.B.

 

[MadmanMacguyver]

Madness we are already losing doctors who are retiring early due to some"controversial" regulations...now they want to outright fire the nurses and orderlies too...whats the deal...this world is heading for a rude awakening with all this "Lets impose our will on everyone" mentality...sheesh...

....Madman now wanders off whistling live and let die

 

[cigarbabe]

Some of the Catholic hospitals here have already stopped hiring people
who use nicotine at home.
They are forcing the employees to take blood tests to see if they nicotine in their systems even though it has nothing to do with working at the hospitals.
We have already descended into madness....
C.B.