I’m a Doctor and I Think It’s Wrong to Ban Smoking outside Hospitals

THE TELEGRAPH: Addicts cannot simply quit as soon as they enter hospital and the activity gives them some much-needed relief

Labour’s plan to ban smoking on hospital grounds is the epitome of a top-down initiative by a nanny-state government. It’s a great example of politicians having an idea, without actually being involved in the practicalities. They don’t understand how hospitals work because they don’t work in hospitals. This solution is a poor sticking plaster to a nation-wide problem.

When it comes to hospitals, we have to be liberal about smoking out of sheer empathy for the patients – many of whom are at the end of their lives. There’s no doubt that smoking is bad for you, so I’m not suggesting that we should encourage people to do it. But for many patients it’s a lifeline – a practice that brings comfort and relief at times of deep distress.

We also cannot ignore the fact that smoking is first and foremost an addiction – you can’t just give it up when you are admitted to hospital. Walk into any hospital in the country, even in the height of winter when it’s freezing cold, and you will see patients standing outside the main entrance in pyjamas with drip stands and drugs, smoking. Some will be smoking as relief from the stress of the intense hospital environment, some will be socialising and enjoying time together and some will be relishing the feeling of a comforting habit that they’ve enjoyed all their lives. » | Karol Sikora * | Tuesday, November 5, 2024

* Prof Karol Sikora is a leading cancer specialist, who worked as a clinical director in the NHS for more than 25 years.

THE GUARDIAN:

Smoking to be banned outside schools and hospitals in England, but pubs get reprieve: Legislation also includes ban on advertising of vapes and restrictions on flavours, packaging and marketing »

With Energy Supplies Down, Time May Be Running Out for Injured People in Gaza’s Hospitals | DW News

October 13, 2023 | Palestinian officials now say more than 1,500 people have been killed in retaliatory airstrikes in Gaza, after the Islamist-militant group Hamas' terror attack on Israel which killed 1,300.

On Monday, Israel's Defense Minister Yoav Gallant announced a "total blockade" of Gaza and discontinued supplies of electricity, food and fuel from Israel to the sealed-off territory. Hospitals are affected and on the brink of complete collapse due to the ever-growing number of casualties and lack of energy and medical supllies.

As a result, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) has warned that hospitals could soon turn into morgues.

British-Palestinian Surgeon on Treating the Wounded in Gaza | Amanpour & Company

Oct 12, 2023 | Israel’s siege is blocking food, water and medicines from reaching Gaza, and the U.N. warns the population is being placed at imminent risk. British-Palestinian surgeon Ghassan Abu Sittah, who left London for Gaza on Sunday, joins the show. Originally aired on October 12, 2023

Smokers Should Not Be Forced Out of Hospitals
THE GUARDIAN: There should be more controlled smoking zones, argues Richard White

Smoking shelters have been reintroduced in some Bournemouth hospitals. Photograph: The Guardian
The government is proposing its next phase of tobacco control: plain packaging for cigarette packets. It is a controversial move, not least as it will be easier for criminal gangs to replicate packets to look authentic, prompting fears that illicit cigarette distribution levels may increase. Some campaigners would also like to see smoking outside pubs, restaurants and other public places banned.

This would be a step too far for tobacco control. Instead, there should be more controlled smoking zones. In September, the Royal Bournemouth and Christchurch hospitals NHS foundation trust reintroduced smoking shelters for staff, patients and visitors, following a five-year ban. Staff and patients had been found smoking on the premises, including in the toilets, the oxygen store and even under the bedclothes.

Like other hospitals that have reversed blanket bans, the decision to permit designated smoking areas was not to encourage or promote smoking but to minimise the risk of illicit smoking on the premises. >>> Richard White | Tuesday, November 30, 2010

Hospitals Back Down Over Smoking Ban
THE TELEGRAPH: Managers at two hospitals who banned smoking have been forced to back down over fears that staff and patients trying to light up illicitly could start a fire.

Patients, visitors and staff have repeatedly been caught flouting the no-smoking restrictions at the hospitals in Bournemouth, Dorset.

So for "Health and Safety reasons" the smoking areas have been brought back in – after firefighters were repeatedly called and staff have had to put out small bed blazes with water.

Patients have been caught smoking under the bedclothes, in stairwells, lavatories, storerooms, courtyards and even next to the oxygen store.

Employees were caught smoking in a total of 21 areas around the Royal Bournemouth Hospital and six at the Christchurch Hospital, Bournemouth, leading to piles of cigarette butts and debris forming.

After five years banning cigarettes on-site they have been allowed back – although only in designated areas. >>> | Monday, September 13, 2010

No Alcohol, Please. I’m Muslim!
MAIL ON SUNDAY: Some Muslims have refused to use alcohol-based hand gels to combat the spread of swine flu because they claim it is against their religion.

Some of those employed by St Albans Council in Hertfordshire have complained about the antibacterial lotion, which is considered a key strategy in containing the virus.

Officials were concerned because the Koran bans Muslims from consuming alcohol, so council chiefs issued them with non-alcohol hand gels, which studies have shown to be less effective in killing bugs. Muslims refuse to use alcohol-based hand gels over religious beliefs >>> Mail On Sunday Reporter | Saturday, July 25, 2009

I’m Getting Fed Up to the Back Teeth of All These Muslim Demands. These People Are So Tedious. How Do You Feel?
THE TELEGRAPH: Muslim medical students are refusing to obey hygiene rules brought in to stop the spread of deadly superbugs, because they say it is against their religion.

Women training in several hospitals in England have raised objections to removing their arm coverings in theatre and to rolling up their sleeves when washing their hands, because it is regarded as immodest in Islam.

Universities and NHS trusts fear many more will refuse to co-operate with new Department of Health guidance, introduced this month, which stipulates that all doctors must be "bare below the elbow".

The measure is deemed necessary to stop the spread of infections such as MRSA and Clostridium difficile, which have killed hundreds.

Minutes of a clinical academics' meeting at Liverpool University revealed that female Muslim students at Alder Hey children's hospital had objected to rolling up their sleeves to wear gowns.

Similar concerns have been raised at Leicester University. Minutes from a medical school committee said that "a number of Muslim females had difficulty in complying with the procedures to roll up sleeves to the elbow for appropriate handwashing".

Sheffield University also reported a case of a Muslim medic who refused to "scrub" as this left her forearms exposed.

Documents from Birmingham University reveal that some students would prefer to quit the course rather than expose their arms, and warn that it could leave trusts open to legal action.

Hygiene experts said last night that no exceptions should be made on religious grounds. Female Muslim medics 'disobey hygiene rules' >>> By Julie Henry and Laura Donnelly

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