Arizona county considering not hiring smokers

TUCSON, Ariz. – Pima County will consider later this month whether to no longer hire smokers and put a price on workers who do smoke.

The Pima County Board of Supervisors is scheduled to vote Dec. 16 on a policy that would refuse the hiring of any smokers. The proposal would impose a 30 percent health-insurance surcharge on employees who smoke or use other tobacco products.

According to county health officials, the policy could lead to more than $1 million in savings annually in health care costs. Pima County Administrator Chuck Huckelberry said there likely will be significant savings if smokers and tobacco users gradually are replaced with healthier workers.

The county health department estimates 32 percent of its more than 2,300 workers are tobacco users.

The policy states prospective workers would need a doctor’s note or a drug test to prove they have been tobacco or nicotine free for a year.