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TUCSON, Ariz. (AP) — The Pima County administrator has asked the board of supervisors hold off on a vote to implement a ban on hiring smokers.
The board is scheduled to vote on the ban on Tuesday. They could grant the request to delay the vote or move ahead with it.
The proposal is to have the county government turn away job applicants who smoke. It would also impose a 30 percent health insurance surcharge on current county employees who smoke or consume other tobacco products.
County health officials say the policy could lead to more than $1 million in savings annually in health-care costs.
The county estimates 32 percent of its more than 2,000 workers are tobacco users. County administrator Chuck Huckelberry has asked that the vote be held on Feb. 10 instead.
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