Important Modification to the HGH Non-Smoking Policy

Starting June 27, 2008, the Hawkesbury & District General Hospital will modify its non-smoking policy to prohibit the use of tobacco everywhere on hospital grounds, including in vehicles parked on the property.

After the introduction of the “Smoke Free Ontario Act” in May 2006 and following the direction of the hospital Board of Directors, the personnel, the physicians, the volunteers, the outpatients and the visitors will now have to abide by the new non-smoking policy.

Smoking had been forbidden in the hospital since October 1997. The employees, physicians, volunteers, outpatients, visitors as well as the patients could smoke outside, nine meters from the entrances and in the smoking shelters.

On June 27, 2008, the new policy will stipulate that only admitted patients wearing a hospital identification bracelet will be permitted to smoke in the smoking shelter located on the east side of the hospital, while the employees, physicians and volunteers will have to restrict their smoking to their own smoking shelter also located on the east side of the hospital. Smoking anywhere else on the hospital grounds will be forbidden.

Both smoking shelters will be removed in May, 2009.

The hospital security guards will ask any offenders (visitors and outpatients) to cease smoking or to leave the premises and/or they could be fined under the “Trespass to Property Act”.

Why this change? Smoking kills 45,000 Canadians annually, some 16,000 in Ontario alone. Research shows that one out of every two smokers will die as a direct result of their addiction.

In order to help the patients coming to the emergency, the personnel will offer nicotine replacement therapy (one / two nicotine patch(es). The hospital also has a specially-trained Smoking Cessation Counselor who can assist people in becoming part of the Ontario STOP Program. To contact this person, please visit the hospital website at www.hgh.ca.

Assistance is also available at the Eastern Ontario Health Unit or through the Canadian Cancer Society’s Smokers Helpline at 1-888-939-3333.

The administration of the hospital hopes to see other leading industries follow suit as very alarming statistics show that our area has twice as many smokers as the national average.