Hospital Moving to Ban Smoking

Missouri’s hospitals are moving quickly to ban tobacco, not just in the building, but anywhere on hospital property. Some patients are so addicted, they drag their I-V bottles, tubes, and cart out to the parking lot of their hospital so they can get a nicotine fix. Those days are numbered. Hospitals and state health officials have worked to change regulations so hospitals can ban tobacco use anywhere on the hospital campus, not just in the building. Missouri Hospital Association spokesman Dave Dillon says the new regulation will be enforceable a year from now, but hospitals want to start using it by September. The regulation will affect patients, naturally, as well as hundreds of hospital employees. Dillon says 25% of Missourians use tobacco and he expects hospital employees fit that model. He says hospitals should be examples to their communities and help people get away from things that are harmful to their health.