A vote on whether to ban Pima County from hiring smokers may be delayed.

Pima County administrator Chuck Huckelberry has asked the county board of supervisors to hold off on a vote to implement the ban.

The board is scheduled to vote on the ban Tuesday. They could grant the request to delay the vote or move ahead with it. Huckelberry would like the vote to take place on Feb. 10 instead.

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.