Facing reduced productivity and higher insurance costs from people who smoke, many employers are deciding not to hire tobacco users. Sarasota County, which also must contain these costs, has adopted a tobacco-free hiring policy that will promote a healthier work force and maintain our responsible stewardship of taxpayer dollars.

This is a proactive effort to manage the impact of the county’s rising health-care costs, which are paid by taxpayers and range from $2 million to $3 million a year. The policy wasn’t adopted hastily. We’ve considered it for five or six years while we gathered data and considered the legal ramifications. A 1995 Florida Supreme Court decision, that has remained unchallenged, established the precedent that employers can ban smokers from employment.

The tobacco-free policy requires Sarasota County job applicants to pledge on their application that they have not used tobacco products for 12 months, a practice already required by state law for all firefighter and paramedic positions. If applicants refuse to verify that they don’t use tobacco products, or if a pre-employment screening reveals nicotine above a specified amount, they’ll be ineligible for county employment.

We adopted this policy for several reasons. First, healthy employees are more productive employees. Second, healthy employees cost less to insure over the long run. Smokers have absenteeism rates that are about 34 percent higher than nonsmokers. Nonsmokers who are exposed to secondhand smoke also develop higher rates of illness. Using figures from the national Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, I estimate that you, as taxpayers, are paying in excess of $2.5 million to cover these lost productivity and extra health-care costs — just for county employees alone. Finally, and certainly not least, the policy sends a strong message that tobacco use and secondhand smoke are serious health hazards.

This policy isn’t a war on smokers or their rights. It’s an effort to gain control over our health-care costs, the ones that you as taxpayers cover, and to encourage a healthy lifestyle among our employees. The policy doesn’t affect current employees, only people who seek employment with Sarasota County. We encourage all Sarasota County employees to learn about and take advantage of the generous smoking cessation programs offered through our Wellness Program.

Tobacco cessation is a highly cost-effective health program. Hiring nonsmoking employees and enforcing workplace smoking restrictions not only protect nonsmokers, they encourage smokers to quit or reduce their use of tobacco products. Smoking bans also reduce the daily use of cigarettes.

There is considerable research that shows significant negative effects from tobacco use on the health of employees and employers. From 1997 to 2001, cigarette smoking was responsible for an estimated $167 billion in annual health-related economic losses in the United States, about $3,561 per adult smoker. Of that, $167 billion, $75 billion is in direct medical costs and $92 billion is attributable to lost productivity, according to the CDC.

As a responsible employer, we also have a duty to maintain a safe work environment for all our employees, including those who don’t smoke. By state law, all public facilities and most indoor work areas must be smoke-free. The local hospitals and schools also are moving toward the creation of smoke-free campuses.

Secondhand smoke is a widely recognized health threat. More than 126 million nonsmoking Americans are exposed to secondhand smoke in homes, vehicles, workplaces and public places, the CDC estimates. Nonsmokers who are exposed to secondhand smoke at home or work increase their heart disease risk by 25 percent to 30 percent and their lung cancer risk by 20 percent to 30 percent.

A report by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health recommends that employers ban smoking in the workplace to prevent the effects of secondhand smoke.

In the end, it’s pretty simple, Sarasota County government has a duty to its employees and to county residents to provide a healthy working environment and to effectively manage the cost of providing health-care benefits as a responsible means of managing your tax dollars.