Mass. Hospital Association to ban hiring smokers

No Smokers Need Apply.

That’s the message you’ll hear from the Massachusetts Hospital Association (MHA) starting Jan. 1. A ban on hiring smokers as police officers or firefighters has been in place in Massachusetts since 1997, but the hospital association could be the first to take restrictions in the private sector to a new level. It hopes become the model as employers get more involved in their employee’s health care.

For Lynn Nicholas, president and CEO of the MHA, this is personal.