What's Happening in Doylestown, PA…

Smokers looking for a job can by-pass putting their application in at a local hospital following a change in recruitment policies.

Doylestown Hospital has initiated arule as of last month whereby it will no longer hire smokers. As part of the recruitment process, applicants will be tested for nicotine use, and if they test positive they will not be hired.

The prohibition against hiring smokers is becoming more prevalent, especially in healthcare facilities. A handful of medical centers in Pennsylvania preceded Doylestown in adopting this policy, among which were the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania and Abington Memorial Hospital.

While present employees will be encouraged to stop smoking, employees hired prior to the introduction of the policy will not be discharged. The hospital offers smoking cessation programs to all interested employees. Brochure printers are often asked to supply a wide range of pamphlets for healthcare facilities, including ones detailing the advantages to smoking cession and how best to quit smoking.

Ron Watson, Doylestown Hospital spokesman, said the policy would provide both financial and health benefits. According to the National Institute of Health, which has taken its own advice to other institutions and adopted a tobacco-free policy, the benefits of a tobacco-free work environment include decreased absenteeism, increased productivity, and lower medical expenditures related to the adverse effects of smoking.