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.

No, looking at it through the lens of someone who isn't addicted and doesn't want someone else practising an unpleasant and secondarily harmful habit nearby isn't the wrong way to be looking at it. And it really is a black and white issue: smokers simply have no business imposing it on non-smokers, and if something has happened in their brains that makes them forget that, then they need reminding. Every time.

You're assuming all the posters who have an issue with smoking right outside a hospital aren't smokers, or ex-smokers, or married to smokers who aren't arseholes. That's a big assumption and you're really just telling on yourself here if you can't possibly fathom such a thing as a smoker who still has standards and limits on how they behave in public.

The vast majority of smokers abide by 'no smoking area' requests even at their own inconvenience.

We had a relative banned from the hospital for smoking in the toilet on the ward. She then smoked in the toilets adjacent to the ward. We couldn’t believe the brass neck of it!!

I think the smoke free is very unrealistic. I did vape (although not anymore) and spent a week at my Dad's bedside as he passed. I needed to go outside for a vape now and then in what was obviously a horrendously emotional time, and having nowhere I was allowed to go to do it except the street was a bit rough. I respectfully took myself off away from all buildings and people as much as I could and had a quick few puffs but at 3am I was not comfortable standing off the hospital grounds entirely. I feel like there would be a stronger case to move the smokers away if there was an area you could point to.

But then the OP would just move away 🤷‍♀️

Went to hospital for a check up and right outside the new Dyson cancer ward are benches. These were filled with smokers. One was a heavily pregnant patient and the other had brought her IV stand, all fully connected up to her. And its a no smoking site

seen patients with iv drip on the stand with wheels then carrying catheter in one of those wire holders stands

Surely you can ask them to move to a smoking area but as a ex smoker I gave up after I had Covid when my mum was in hospital I think it’s disrespectful to smoke in the entrance where everyone has to walk through all the smoke. As I have COPD now I try to hold my breath when walking past people smoking but vaping affects me all so I’m not anti smoking everyone to there own just show some respect to others who

It's an addiction. One of the strongest. A massive physiological, psychological need. It makes absolute sense to anyone with an ounce of empathy.

I personally think it’s awful but I don’t smoke. I’m currently pregnant and everytime I walk outside it reminds me of a pub smoking area or night club just gatherings of people.

It should be banned. Same as drugs.

The saddest thing that I ever saw, the smokers outside the hospital doors…