Arizona county proposes hiring ban, extra charges for smokers

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Arizona county proposes hiring ban, extra charges for smokers

By David Schwartz PHOENIX (Reuters) - Smokers seeking a job in one Arizona county need not apply and current employees would pay the price for lighting up under a controversial proposal by its top administrator. Pima County Manager Chuck Huckelberry said the proposed smoking ban for new employees, and medical insurance surcharges of up to 50 percent for current employees who use tobacco, is a matter of dollars and common sense. "This proposal is based on years of research regarding the negative effects of tobacco and nicotine on the health of individuals," Huckelberry said in a memo to the county board of supervisors late last month, "and the staggering costs to employers providing health coverage." Under the new initiative, applicants for county jobs would have to sign an affidavit saying that they have been tobacco- and nicotine-free for one year and pass a test to prove it. The southern Arizona county already bans smoking on its property under a policy that went into effect in January, 2013.

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