Maryland hospital will stop hiring smokers

ANNAPOLIS, Md. (AP) — A hospital in Maryland’s capital city will stop hiring people who smoke.

Anne Arundel Medical Center said in a news release posted on its website Thursday that beginning July 1, 2015, the hospital will no longer hire nicotine users.

The hospital also said tobacco use, including e-cigarettes will be banned anywhere on its campuses starting next month.

The hospital system, with its main facility in Annapolis and other facilities in Bowie, Kent Island, Odenton, Pasadena and Gambrills, employs more than 4,000 people.

The hospital will test for nicotine as part of its routine drug-screening urine test.

Current employees who smoke will not lose their jobs, the hospital said.

Copyright 2014 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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