Smoking outside hospitals. Can l contact someone?

[Moier]

This Morning.. talking about smoking in public places.. especially hospitals.
This week l was waiting at the entrance of my local hospital waiting for a pick up after having a procedure.
Despite all the notices about not smoking in the area l literally counted 23 people and 9 were patients in wheelchairs...some with drips.. and three in NHS uniforms.
The smell was horrible.
I now think the time has come for enforcement or action.
Security were about .. but no one saying anything.
3 Yards away is a smoking shelter but that was empty.
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What about the people with cancer, entering or leaving the hospital who have to inhale others' cigarette smoke? YES, it happens!
They are not permitted to smoke there so why do they think it's OK? Selfish, ignorant people!

The government is thinking of a ban on smoking outside. This will include outside hospitals, pub gardens and street cafes. Starmer is saying he wants to reduce smoking to cut nhs expenditure. I doubt this will stop people smoking and they will just do it at home. Or in their cars. Children will suffer. I dislike smoking but I can see this having unintended consequences.

I completely agree with you OP -
im pregnant and hate having to walk past a whole line of smokers to get into the hospital. It’s a horrible habit and we all know the issues it can cause.

also to PP saying they wouldn’t begrudge someone ill smoking - I don’t think Op is saying they can’t smoke, but they should be going to the shelters and not doing it round the entrance and inflicting their smoke all over everyone else.

If they've gotten themselves outside they can get themselves a further 3 yards to the smoking area, there is no need to stand and smoke outside the door.

I agree op, it's completely disgusting and selfish.

Maybe you missed the part where I said my friend died yesterday of cancer?

I hope I never have to experience chemo or cancer & truly hope I stopped smoking in time, but who knows? But the smell, and momentary exposure to it, is not reason enough to continue treating smokers as second class citizens. Were it to be then I'm all for going in on perfume, cos that makes me feel ill too. FYI - I also cannot bear the smell of smoke, so I hold my breath for a few seconds if it's too much for me.

I usually give the smoker a smile too, cos what misery must you be in to be at a hospital & still smoking outside whilst sick & passers by are sneering at you? Maybe they aren't sick, maybe they are visiting a loved one who is?

Maybe it's a staff member who's just had to give unbearable news to someone? Is part way through a 12hr shift? Who knows. I don't, neither do you.

@Caerulea i think you will find the government is about to. What we, or you, might think is irrelevant. The majority are against smoking and don’t want it near them.

I just listened to the Radio 4 piece on this. It would be understandable if hospitals banned smoking on their premises, but they provide a smoking area and smokers should stick to it. But I can't accept that pubs should have to ban smoking in pub gardens. I would love to see the back of smoking altogether, but people have free will and it seems really heavy handed to tell pubs they can't have people smoking.
As for vapes - just ban the kiddy flavours and stick to plain tobacco flavour. There doesn't seem to be an argument about why this shouldn't happen.

Maybe you missed that hospitals have a designated outdoor area for smoking so smokers should use that. They don't have a "right" to smoke in patient areas - that includes the entrance to the building.

And I have been a cancer patient having to run the gauntlet of the smokers fog, it made me feel even worse.I actually dreaded it each time as I knew I would literally gag.

Complain to PALS . DH has an office at a hospital that is over an entrance and the smell of smoke is vile- security won't tackle them . No one needs to smoke.

I hope this is true plus I hope they bring back the law the Tory’s were going to bring in where they would stop anyone born after a certain year being able to smoke.
Smoking outside in pub gardens and cafes etc is stinky and anti social. I don’t think we need to pander to smokers in 2024. It will die out soon enough.

It is indeed bizarre walking down the road and seeing a grown man breathing in candy floss flavoured stuff.

Hope no one walks past them on oxygen.

@fashionqueen0123 I think reports are saying they are adding to the Conservative proposals. My only concern is that it’s driven underground. Smoking in the home around children is just the worst thing. It’s also a blunt tool for stopping smoking. Starmer is quoting 80,000 deaths from smoking related disease, but it’s not clear how stopping smoking in open spaces will curtail smoking. It could just fibre people to smoke at home, with continuing dire consequences.

Honestly just let other people live their lives and have some compassion...the sheer judgment! It's done you no harm nor inconvenience.

A lot of the smokesr have oxygen tubes in their noses, I remember patients smoking in their beds and nurses in the office so it's been a long time to try and resolve it, some patients still smoke in the bathrooms. Mental health units allow smoking.

23 people wont fit in the average smoking shelter, and smokers already know once they are legally confined to that spot, the goalposts will move and itll be why cant they resite the shelter so no one can walk past it. And there eventually is no place to site the shelter that doesnt inconvenience someone. And people light up on the way to the shelter etc ad infinitum.

Its currently not illegal to smoke, so for now leave them be.

I will add that 23 people smoking outside a reasonably large hospital is a tiny amount. Used to be many more.

I collected a family member from Wythenshawe Hospital a few months ago. As we were waiting for an uber there was a patient smoking weed by the entrance. Staff and visitors going back and forth and no-one said a thing to him. I think people choose their battles tbh.

The person who left you stranded in the middle of a group of smokers is surely to blame?

Could you have asked to be left further away from the smokers?

This is one of the realities of life you just have to accept and be grateful you are one of the fortunate patients who is able to go home and has someone to collect them.

I cannot begrudge folk smoking outside hospitals - for many it is the most stressful difficult time of their lives. If they smoke, let them smoke - they are not lighting up on the wards.

That potential law was the worst anyone ever came up with.

Just imagine how itll go when you tell a 32 year old man he isnt allowed to buy fags, but his brother can.

Plus most of us even the curmudgeonly me have mates of differing ages who would be able to go buy smokes for us.
Then add in all the illegal sellers who dont care now about flogging dodgy cigs to anyone, I doubt they'll be checking ages.

It's an addiction, and like other addictions it wont stop until the person wants to stop.

I don't begrudge people smoking in designated areas, I absolutely begrudge them smoking in areas which are clearly sign posted "no smoking".

@MissyB1

I get that. I am non smoker and hate the smell of cigarette smoke. Absolutely at an airport or shopping mall etc. I would be irritated by people smoking outdoors in non designated areas. I have spent time in hospitals - I have seen the people in wheelchairs, on drips outside smoking. Or clearly patient family outside the doors smoking. I don't begrudge them - their life is clearly difficult in that moment. They don't want to be there. If they step outside the automatic doors and have a cigarette I can't get worked up about it.

So does ours. But we are also aware that there is a risk in patients with drips and catheters making the walk offsite onto the main road. And also looks terrible.

I believe the fire safety staff are happy it’s less policed than it was because people aren’t sneaking off into odd hidden places to have a smoke.