CBS 6 Web Staff

7:02 p.m. EST, November 16, 2011

RICHMOND, VA (WTVR) - One of the largest employers in Richmond, Virginia will no longer hire people who smoke.

Bon Secours Health System's "nicotine-free" hiring policy will go into effect at the end of the month. Bon Secours employees who currently smoke will not be affected by the new policy.

Under the new policy, anyone who applies for a job with Bon Secours Virginia will be tested for nicotine. If that test comes back positive, the applicant must wait six months to apply again.

"We realize this might be unpopular with some, but we absolutely believe this is the thing to do,”  said Bon Secours Senor Vice President of Human Resources Bonnie Shelor.

Additionally. Bon Secours banned smoking inside and around its hospital building in 2009.

Before then, St. Mary’s Hospital Cardiac Surgeon Dr. Mark Bladergroen, said there were patients and visitors smoking outside the hospital. He welcomes the new policy.

Bon Secour's 12,000 current employees will not be affected by the new rule.
And for workers who do smoke, classes are offered to help them stop smoking. 

Louis McIntosh, a longtime St. Mary's worker, quit smoking five years ago. He said he remembers how difficult it became just to walk up a few steps.

"It helps motivate you to want to stop," said McIntosh. "'By the time I parked my vehicle and walked to the hospital I'd be out of breath."

Now that McIntosh is smoke free, he said he feels healthier. Plus, he said his insurance rates have also dropped since he stopped smoking.

With a new nicotine-free hiring policy, McIntosh is hopeful his future colleagues will be smoke free too.

"I think it's beautiful. I think it`s the right thing to do," said McIntosh. "If you want to work in the health industry you need to stop smoking."

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Bon Secours Virginia employs about 6,000 people in metro-Richmond. It runs seven area hospitals including St. Mary’s Hospital, Memorial Regional Medical Center, Richmond Community Hospital and St. Francis Medical Center.

St. Mary’s Hospital is located about one mile from the Altria Group corporate headquarters. Altria Group is the parent company for cigarette maker Philip Morris USA, the largest tobacco company in the United States.

In a statement, VCU Health System indicated it had no plans to ban hiring smokers or test employees for nicotine use at VCU Medical Center. On its online application, VCU Health System does inform applicants that it is a tobacco-free workplace.