Significant changes to The University of Alabama at Birmingham Medicine’s hiring polices of tobacco users are affecting The University of Alabama and local Tuscaloosa medical facilities.

On July 1, UAB Medicine will enact a new policy banning tobacco users from working at any of their health facilities. In order to enforce this, UAB Medicine will expand drug screenings for employees to include tests for nicotine.

“Our intent is not to eliminate people from applying for positions with UAB Medicine, but rather to send the message that as the largest health care provider in the state, we are committed to the health of our employees and all Alabamians,” UAB Health System CEO Dr. Will Ferniany said in a news release.

Alan Blum, physician professor of family medicine at The University of Alabama and recipient of the Smoke Free America Award and the first National Public Health Award for his research on tobacco’s effect on society, said some employers enact smoke-free policies to offset health insurance costs rather than out of concern for their employees.

He said the Capstone is one of those employers with a health insurance policy requiring smokers to pay more.

“Employers need to be clear about their motives,” Blum said. “If the employer is responsible for covering the cost of employees’ health insurance, then that employer should state that the decision to mandate a tobacco-free hiring policy is being made to help lower costs through the reduced level of tobacco-caused illnesses and lost workdays.”

He said, however, these smoke-free policies encourage smokers to stop.

“When [smokers] can’t light up, they don’t,” Blum said.

The new policy at medical facilities like UAB, is part of a growing national trend. Hospitals in Florida, Georgia, Massachusetts, Missouri, Ohio, Tennessee and Texas have also stopped hiring tobacco users.

Brad Fisher, communication director for DCH Health System in Tuscaloosa, said DCH employees don’t have to quit smoking. They just won’t be able to do it at work. On Jan. 1, 2014, the hospital will enact a policy prohibiting smoking both on and directly across from their premises.

He said the policy came after the hospital’s medical staff began pushing for a smoke-free campus two years ago.

“There will be no tobacco consumption on our property,” Fisher said. “You can’t run to your car and smoke; you can’t walk around spitting tobacco into a Mountain Dew bottle ,either.”

Fisher said DCH will focus on educating their employees with stop-smoking programs in the 11 months before the policy goes into effect.

“We have had smoking programs in place for a while, but obviously now there’s more incentive to take advantage of those,” Fisher said. “The feeling among us and the other industry is that a hospital should be encouraging a healthy lifestyle. You can probably see a time in the future that it will be mandated by government.”

Fisher said since the policy is campuswide, it will apply to patients and visitors as well, but smoking cessation programs will be available.

“If we have a patient who really has to smoke, of course we can put the patch on them,” Fisher said. “There are ways to help the patient with their situation.”