Smoking at hospitals

[iwentothemfmountaintop]

For context, I work at a hospital.

I’m sat waiting for a lift home and a woman, obviously a patient, has come and sat next to me and lit up a cigarette. She’s facing towards me each time she exhales her smoke. We’re right under a smoke free site sign!

AIBU or should there be security making sure this type of thing doesn’t happen? For all she knows I’m a patient here for a respiratory illness, having cigarette smoke blown on me! It’s absolutely vile, it’s making me feel sick and giving me a headache, but there’s nowhere else for me to wait for my lift.

Well you suggested there wasn't a good solution. But OP's situation is that she's sat there and someone has come up and started smoking in her face. Even with an understanding that smokers are addicted and many will not just refrain from smoking when they're a patient, it doesn't mean OP's situation had to happen. We can make it taboo for people to smoke near people who aren't smoking. Or even in areas where non smokers might legitimately be expected to turn up, like a bus stop or a pick up point. That doesn't stop smokers from going off and finding somewhere more discrete.

The bit where people smoke outside my local A&E (also under no smoking signs) is right by the air vent for the children’s A&E, where it’s mostly babies and toddlers with respiratory illnesses. You can smell it inside in that end of the department. I tell people to move every time.

I work in a hospital, if one of our patients asks me/tells me they’re going outside for a cigarette I say something along the lines of “Ok. Just make sure you go to ‘X’, not the main entrance. I don’t want you go get into trouble.”
Firstly, because I know how horrible it is for patients/staff/visitors walking through a cloud of smoke as they enter the building, and secondly, because I don’t want them to be ‘told off’ which usually results in an agitated/angry mood when they come back inside, or them kicking off at members of the public or staff. If you don’t like it, you either move away or say something.

Smoke-free sites are unrealistic, there should be designated smoking areas. The smokers and vapers in the hospital grounds include patients/family members who have received bad news and need a moment to relax, or a patient who has been cooped up on a ward for days/weeks/months and slipping out for a cig is their only ‘escape’ and slice of normality.

Hooray, someone with a bit of common sense.

To be fair every hospital i have seen is a smoke free site anspd patients smoke out the front.
But where are patients meant to go? Out up the road in their jammies with their IV drip?
I know they are trying to encourage patients not to smoke, but this is not the answer
They should have smoking areas.

It is really awkward for people in psychiatric hospitals.
My local one had a teeny little courtyard garden that people could smoke in. Then the rule came in that you were not allowed to smoke on site... which meant you had to be taken off site to smoke. But if you were sectioned, you had to be cleared by a psychiatrist to be able to do so. And it would also take staff off the ward to accompany you.

Where I live (Melbourne) a doctor was killed in this situation.

The very act of smoking under a non smoking sign in front of a hospital is an announcement to the world that you're an absolute feral who doesn't care about the usual niceties. I can understand OP's reluctance.

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2019-04-17/joseph-esmaili-sentenced-for-killing-melbourne-heart-surgeon/11020218

I can understand that, but I worked in a kid's hospital so it would be the parents having a puff outside.
No one would confront them... you would get a mouthful about their kid being in hospital and that is why they needed to smoke.
It was very difficult. I was told to confront parents, and I refused. NMW to get abuse. No thanks.

You can’t hire security for this sort of thing! You’re within your rights to just say something. Say you’ve got a lung condition if needed.

I've see this. Tempted to take their cigarettes. They can hardly run after me.

Why does someone else have to do the confronting? We are grown adults living in a society where we have to interact and stick up for ourselves now and again!

Walking through the fag cloud is a real treat after a big slug of chemo, I can tell you 🙄

Smokers in hospitals are even more desperate for their next ciggy than usual - MOH had a cancerous kidney removed and 36hrs later persuaded someone else's visitor to wheel him into the lift and outside for a smoke.

You had options:
Ask her to move because you've got asthma and you were there first.
Move yourself somewhere else.
Do nothing and whinge on MN.

What about the pregnant woman at the maternity hospital blocking the doors and puffing into every pregnant woman that walks past. It gives me the absolute rage. I wonder if there was a rule that only non smokers could get epidurals would they stop? It's one thing for a smoker to struggle giving up while pg, or even to have the occasional one to keep them calm but there is something about the brazenness of this that is a different thing altogether. They really do not give a shit.

I think smoking is allowed in certain hospice areas. Too right as long as it respects others too.

As for general patients and particularly psychiatric patients, I have to say with my softie hat on, that banning them completely from smoking anywhere is kind of cruel and unusual punishment. It smacks of some rule maker taking great delight in making a difficult time even more difficult.

Bring back smoking areas in hospital grounds, away from doors, vents etc. It could be done tomorrow, but that would be admitting defeat on behalf of the no smoking czars. I think it's cruel myself.

I was sitting outside the hospital on my own waiting for my daughter to come out. I lit a cigarette and a loud voice came over a speaker saying "you can't smoke there". I nearly died of fright.

I don’t know. Many that I see standing outside having a cigarette often look like they may not be here much longer, I don’t grudge them a quick fag outside. Appreciate it’s not pleasant for people walking through it though.

Oh that was funny, I bet you jumped out of your skin!

It reminds me of the clips on SM of the person making public service announcements on the tube to people just about to drink a coke, or eat something etc. saying eating and drinking is forbidden. It was a send up. Hilarious.

It is heart warming to see some posters have compassion. I don't agree with smoking at the entry doors but I do think there should be an area away from everyone for the poor unfortunates to have a fag. As long as they are not blowing smoke in my or others faces or anywhere near them, it's ok in my book.

The complete ban in hospital grounds is not compassionate. IMV.

You work at a hospital and this is new for you?

Not since the 50s ‘they’ haven’t

Smoking is down to less than 10% of the UK population. Not surprising that so many of the remaining smokers are in hospital.

When I see them I feel deep pity and want to kick the corporate bosses who flog an addictive poison in the bollocks.

I had this. My mum was dying in the hospital and is come out to wait for a taxi home. Woman was smoking in non smoking area. I told her to move. "But it's raining" she said. I told her I didn't care. She moved.

I’m always surprised at the amount of hospital workers all standing a round entrances to hospitals. Whichever way you go you have to walk through the disgusting fumes. They’re not in the doorway as such but because so many are surrounding the area it’s like a strange force field!!