BIRMINGHAM, Ala. -- If you smoke, don't bother applying for a job with UAB's medical system after July 1. They won't hire you.

All new hires on or after that date must be tobacco free. Nicotine will be one of the drugs tested as part of the pre-employment drug screen, said UAB spokeswoman Jennifer Lollar this morning.

And it's not just smoking. According to the new policy, tobacco use "includes smoking, sucking/dipping, chewing or snuffing any tobacco product."

"Tobacco use is a major cause of illness and death in our state," UAB Health System CEO Will Ferniany said in a prepared statement. "For more than 100 years, UAB Medicine has been dedicated to preserving health and preventing diseases in Birmingham and beyond. As health-care providers, UAB Medicine and the entities that comprise it should be role models for good health behaviors, and lead by example in the quest for good health. We believe one of the best ways to accomplish this is to encourage people to stop using tobacco products and, in anticipation of the 37th Great American Smokeout tomorrow, we are announcing our new hiring policy."

The policy does not apply to UAB system-wide.

It applies only to those jobs with the UAB Health System, UAB Hospital, University of Alabama Health Services Foundation, The Kirklin Clinic, The Kirklin Clinic at Acton Road, UAB Callahan Eye Hospital, University of Alabama Ophthalmology Services Foundation, Triton Health Systems L.L.C./VIVA Health Inc. and UAB Health Centers.



The policy does not apply to current UAB Medicine employees or those hired before July 1, 2013 who use tobacco.

According to the written announcement released this morning, UAB Medicine is not the first health-care organization to adopt this type of policy. Hospitals and health systems in Florida, Georgia, Massachusetts, Missouri, Ohio, Tennessee and Texas also have stopped hiring people who use tobacco, according to the Society for Human Resource Management.

UAB Medicine said it will ramp up its smoking and tobacco-cessation programs for current employees.

Lollar said Ferniany would be available later today for further questions.