Memorial Hospital in Chattanooga, Tenn., is instituting a new policy as part of its pre-employment drug testing that would prevent smokers from being hired.
All job applicants will be tested for nicotine and will be ineligible for employment if any is found, reports Fox News. The new policy will not affect current employees.
According to the report, the expansion in drug testing is intended to set an anti-smoking example to the community to help prevent potential health care costs.
Some advocates believe the new policy touches on employment discrimination and is an invasion of privacy. According to Dr. Michael Siegel, a professor at Boston University School of Public Health, the decision is legal; however, it creates a “slippery slope.”
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