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What's with all the smokers outside the hospitals?

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That just takes my breath away.

 

You want other patients and visitors to hold their breath, so that some people who should not be damaging their own health, smoking illegally in a hospital door way, are respected?

 

is it not their choice to damage their own health or not last time I looked smoking it's self was not a crime....... what next a maximum number of drinks in a pub because it could damage you health, mind you better not give the government ideas

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That just takes my breath away.

 

Well then, you won't be smelling anything from the smokers:D.

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That just takes my breath away.

 

You want other patients and visitors to hold their breath, so that some people, who should not be damaging their own health, smoking illegally in a hospital door way, are respected?

 

is not their choice to damage their own health or not last time I looked smoking it's self was not a crime....... what next a maximum number of drinks in a pub because it could damage you health, mind you better not give the goverment ideas

 

But it is their choice.

Smokers choose to smoke, exceptions:

Some weaker people may have been influenced to take up smoking because of their background i.e. if their parents smoked willy nilly in the home, or anywhere else where the children could see them, or some cruel person forced them to accept a duty free gift of cheap fags.

We cannot say we have not been told the health dangers of smoking. I remember doing it in School, and that is going back a few more years than I care to say. But just to give you an idea of how long ago my art work /slogan for art and health; in one session was: a painting of a coffin with the banner ‘Players please the undertaker'.

 

A recommended maximum alcohol intake already exists, and most sensible landlords have always monitored the drinking of their clients, and know when to refuse further sales.

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But it is their choice.

Smokers choose to smoke, exceptions:

Some weaker people may have been influenced to take up smoking because of their background i.e. if their parents smoked willy nilly in the home, or anywhere else where the children could see them, or some cruel person forced them to accept a duty free gift of cheap fags.

We cannot say we have not been told the health dangers of smoking. I remember doing it in School, and that is going back a few more years than I care to say. But just to give you an idea of how long ago my art work /slogan for art and health; in one session was: a painting of a coffin with the banner ‘Players please the undertaker'.

 

A recommended maximum alcohol intake already exists, and most sensible landlords have always monitored the drinking of their clients, and know when to refuse further sales.

 

 

Sorry did not type the wording right in that post IT IS THE SMOKERS CHOICE of course

 

A recommended daily alcohol intake does exist and I do not know the exact amounts but I think the daily amount for men is about one and a half pints.

Landlords may well refuse further sales to clients but this will probably be well after the daily recommended limit has been reached by the client. I doubt any landlord would refuse a customer who was not showing signs of been drunk just because they thought they could damage their health with another drink. I think Landlords would only refuse to serve a client who was drunk or becoming unruly through drink and that is not the same as exceeding the recommended daily alcohol intake.

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Sorry did not type the wording right in that post IT IS THE SMOKERS CHOICE of course

 

A recommended daily alcohol intake does exist and I do not know the exact amounts but I think the daily amount for men is about one and a half pints.

Landlords may well refuse further sales to clients but this will probably be well after the daily recommended limit has been reached by the client. I doubt any landlord would refuse a customer who was not showing signs of been drunk just because they thought they could damage their health with another drink. I think Landlords would only refuse to serve a client who was drunk or becoming unruly through drink and that is not the same as exceeding the recommended daily alcohol intake.

 

I agree, you cannot expect some one else to know what is your alcohol intake healthy limit.

Alchol, unlike smoke in limited amounts is good for health.

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smokers by law cannot now smoke in any public/work place where would you like them to smoke? in the middle of a field in the rain. I respect your right to not like second hand smoke and to be honest I don't either but I also respect the smokers right to smoke if they are doing it in a perfectly legal way, if they are not they need to be asked to move to or given a place where they can smoke and not be made to feel like second class citizens. if you do not like the smell of smoke do like I do and hold your breath until you have walked past

 

The point is that it is ILLEGAL to smoke anywhere on hospital grounds, therefore by smoking at the doors the smokers are breaking the law.

I completely understand the addiction that smokers have to smoking, and how that can be both physical and psychological, but the point I am making is that not only are these people breaking the law by smoking where they do, but they are so aggresive if you ask them to move away from the doors or the waiting area. I think it would be far better if they had a place to go, like a covered area away from the doors - but the fact is that at present there is no such place so the smokers should not be smoking there, and there is no need for such aggression when they are asked to move.

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Argh! what is it with smokers congregating outside the main doors to the hospitals? Hallamshire is the worst, but Northern is also bad. Why do they do this? right next to a big no smoking sign? Surely if they are well enough to come down off the wards they can walk the 50 metres to leave the hospital grounds, or even move away from the doors would be enough. But if you ask the smokers to stop or to move, they get so nasty.

I saw a girl today at the start of visiting hours waiting outside the hallamshire when a group went and stood right next to her and started smoking. When she politely asked them to move they turned on her, shouting all kinds of abuse, she looked terrified.

Anyone else noticed this kind of behaviour/got any ideas on how to stop this from happening?:rant::rant:

 

 

http://www.whatwouldnikkido.com

To be honest there's a lot of reasons why you see smoking so close to hospitals, one being a natural reaction to not wanting to go too far away from someone you love who is injured.

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My last post honest... :hihi:

<snip> I think it would be far better if they had a place to go, like a covered area away from the doors - <snip>.

That nerd, is the obvious and sensible solution.

 

The problem with sensible solutions are that there is someone higher up, who is less sensible (or more sensible, depending on which side of the fence you are), who will think.... hmmm 'building a smoking area within hospital grounds would be the solution, but we will have thousands of protesters saying that hospitals shouldn't support smoking under any circumstance.'

 

 

When the obvious does happen, when the policy [not smoking anywhere on the grounds] doesn't work... employ someone to enforce it :rolleyes:....which probably costs twice as much as putting a poxy cover over an small area 20 yards from the door.

 

:rolleyes:

 

I despair. :rolleyes:

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The point is that it is ILLEGAL to smoke anywhere on hospital grounds, therefore by smoking at the doors the smokers are breaking the law.

I completely understand the addiction that smokers have to smoking, and how that can be both physical and psychological, but the point I am making is that not only are these people breaking the law by smoking where they do, but they are so aggresive if you ask them to move away from the doors or the waiting area. I think it would be far better if they had a place to go, like a covered area away from the doors - but the fact is that at present there is no such place so the smokers should not be smoking there, and there is no need for such aggression when they are asked to move.

 

I read about one doctor who always used to go and stand in front of an electricity substation in his hospital grounds whenever he smoked. Although the substation was entirely surrounded by the hospital grounds, it belonged to the local electricity supplier and therefore wasn't classed as part of the grounds. He could therefore stand there smoking and there was nothing that the hospital could do about it. :hihi: :hihi:

 

I'm not sure if such a planning quirk exists for any of the Sheffield hospitals though.

 

In relation to the issue at hand though, it's common sense to provide a smoking shelter within the hospital grounds but the hospital authorities would never do this. The NHS and wider government mistakenly believes that it is their job to try and reduce the number of people smoking. It is not. Anti-smoking campaigns are not the business of government as smoking is an adult choice and is still a perfectly legal activity. As part of this puritanical anti-smoking zealotry, the NHS authorities don't provide smoking areas because they believe this will discourage people from smoking. Someone needs to explain to them exactly what the business of government is.

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I had to take my youngest to the Childrens this weekend. As the ambulance doors opened outside A&E a fog of smoke came straight in.

 

I used to smoke, I understand its a response to stressful and distressing circumstances sometimes (god knows I wanted a fag more than once this weekend) but surely its just common sense not to do it straight outside the doors?

 

I think a shelter off to oneside is the most practical solution. I understand that smoking is meant to be banned on hospital premesis but as enforcing it seems inpractical they may as well exceptthat and move towards a compromise.

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The point is that it is ILLEGAL to smoke anywhere on hospital grounds, therefore by smoking at the doors the smokers are breaking the law.

I completely understand the addiction that smokers have to smoking, and how that can be both physical and psychological, but the point I am making is that not only are these people breaking the law by smoking where they do, but they are so aggresive if you ask them to move away from the doors or the waiting area. I think it would be far better if they had a place to go, like a covered area away from the doors - but the fact is that at present there is no such place so the smokers should not be smoking there, and there is no need for such aggression when they are asked to move.

 

I agree that smokers in the doors is bad.

 

But, like most others on this thread, I believe that provision should be made for smokers in the form of an outdoor shelter off to the side of the doors.

 

I'm an ex-smoker (7 years), very glad to have managed to quit for good and, not particularly tolerant of cigarette smoke.

 

However, I remember well how, as a addicted smoker, how deprivation of nicotine could have a really harsh effect on the emotions.

 

I remember times when trying to quit, when I'd just feel absolutely empty and incredibly vulnerable.

 

Now, the people smoking at hospital doors are either patients and therefore ill, quite possibly very seriously ill, possibly terminally so, or, are visitors who have close friends/relatives who are ill.

 

That means they're already in a weak and vulnerable emotional state.

 

To be faced with the sheer stupidity and lack of respect/understanding of those who made the decision that no smoking is allowed and no shelter provided- it's no wonder that some of them get angry and aggressive.

 

Perhaps, rather than moaning and helping to put the boot in further, it would be more constructive to focus critisism on the people who are really responsible for this situation i.e. the govt or hospital authorities who insist that there is no provision for smokers at a sensible distance from the hospital doors.

 

Such provision is not expensive- a simple bus-shelter-type roof would suffice.

 

There's way too much of this stupidity now, in all aspects of life- sadly, maybe more people are going to start getting aggressive and hostile when faced with such stupidity, because it's -pretty obvious that debate and reasoned argument don't have much of an effect.

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