Our hospital is smoke free on the inside but visitor's and patients are allowed to smoke outside.  There have been many complaints about them standing in front of the hospital smoking and we have tried to come up with a solution as to where they can smoke.   About 2 years ago the only place they could smoke was across the street in the park; but we had many complaints from the people in the neighborhood that did not like this because people would hangout around thier houses and the smoke was really bad. Well a little over a year ago they put a place for them to smoke that is in front of the hospital.  There are patients out there smoking in the hospital gowns draging IV poles and what ever else is hooked up to them.  Do other hospitals have this problem; we are looking for a solution can anyone out there tell me what you do about this problem.  What are our rights as a hospital with patients taking equipment outside the hospital.  Thanks for any help.

We had the same problem until about 3 years ago when EVERY hospital or medical clinic, etc. in our city put their heads together and decided to cooperate on a universal "no smoking" policy.  It is not allowed anywhere on any medical campus.  There was a lot of whinning and nashing of teeth at first, but now all is quiet.  I don't know where they are going but we don't see any cigarette butts or people smoking anywhere. 

Our hospital has been smoke free for some time and we tried keeping patients and visitors from smoking but it just didn't work.  We eventually purchased two "smoke huts" and placed one on the front of the campus and one on the back.  Visitors and patients are asked to go to these areas which are away from the entrance.  It takes constant monitoring, but it does help to get the smokers away from the building.   

Like everyone else, we are smoke-free, too, but only on paper. People still continue to go to the parking lots to smoke, leaving butts everywhere. And guess what the first item was in the Joint Commission's Exit Briefing last week? That's right! The cigarette butts! I have a feeling that this topic may be given more attention by our administration in the very near future!

Our campus went tobacco free in 2008. It's been with mixed results. You will see visitors standing on the streets surrounding our hospital smoking. Patients will go to a friend's car and smoke. The cigarette butts dot our sidewalks as many of them sneak around and smoke at night.