Leave health workers alone, says Forest

Wed 25th March, 2015

Health workers should be judged on their ability to do their job, not on whether they smoke, drink or are overweight, say campaigners.

Responding to a call by Nice (National Institute for Clinical Excellence) for a ban on all health workers smoking while in uniform and during breaks, Simon Clark, director of the smokers' group Forest, said:

"Health workers should be judged on their ability to do their job, not on some politically correct picture of the perfect person.

"As long as it doesn't interfere with their job it's immoral to threaten hard-working people with disciplinary action just because they enjoy a smoke before or after work or during a legitimate break.

"Health workers shouldn't have to be role models. What happens if they're overweight? Will they be forced to lose weight in order to keep their jobs?

"Nice should butt out and leave health workers to get on with their jobs and their lives without harassment or discrimination."

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