More companies shut out workers who smoke

— -- Employees who smoke are fast becoming an endangered species as companies ban smoking on all corporate grounds, including parking and other outdoor areas where smokers were once allowed to gather.

It's a radical change from just a decade ago, when smoking was tolerated even if frowned upon. But now being a smoker on the job can even risk your job as more companies pass policies banning the hiring of smokers. What some employers are doing:

•On July 4, Rex Healthcare and several other hospitals in the Raleigh, N.C., region announced that their hospital campuses were implementing a completely tobacco-free policy — a bold move because tobacco is a cash crop in the state. The policy bans smoking on all campuses, but the hospitals are offering cessation programs as well as other assistance for smokers.

•L-3 Communications' division in Camden, N.J., last year implemented a smoke-free policy that bans employees from smoking within 25 feet of the building. The company also developed a smoking-cessation program with hypnosis, discounts on cessation aids such as the nicotine patch and gum, as well as on-site counseling to monitor employees' cessation programs. The defense contractor has had 10 employees who successfully quit smoking.

L-3 facilities supervisor Gerald Rugletic, 60, a 50-year smoker, has quit smoking for 10 months through his company's support. "It helped sway me to quit smoking," he says. "I think it's good they're banning it outside."

•As an employer and health care system, the Cleveland Clinic recently announced a no-smoking policy that will begin Sept. 1. That includes outside the buildings. One enterprising resident near the clinic lets employees smoke in his yard for $1.

The not-for-profit multispecialty academic medical center will begin screening potential employees for nicotine as a part of the standard health and wellness screening during their preplacement physical exam. An applicant who tests positive through the urine test will not be considered for employment until he or she has quit for two weeks. Current employees who smoke will not be fired.