The Saint John Regional Hospital has been a smoke-free zone for years and, as of Tuesday, so are its parking lots, sidewalks and driveways.
It’s a move that will soon take hold at hospitals throughout New Brunswick.
“This is something that will only work if we have everybody pushing as hard as they can, being courteous with all those people who have this addiction, but I think most people are on our side here, and I think we’re moving forward correctly,” says John McGarry of the Horizon Health Network.
The announcement was made Tuesday, to mixed reviews.
“There are already people still smoking in the parking lot. You can’t stop people from smoking,” says Saint John resident Tara O’Toole. “If they want to smoke, they’re going to do it.”
“First of all, when you walk in the front door of the hospital you won’t have people standing at the door smoking,” says Saint John resident Kelly Hare. “You’ve got new babies coming out the door and older people sitting there.”
Tuesday’s launch follows changes to New Brunswick’s Smoke-Free Places Act earlier this year, which restricts smoking in venues including restaurant patios and sports fields.
Over the next 12 months, the Smoke-Free Properties Policy will be implemented at all Horizon Health facilities, and the province’s French-language health authority, Vitalite, is expected to follow suit.
But those behind the new policy acknowledge it’s only one element in the push to end smoking.
“Nicotine addiction in the form of smoking is a chronic, relapsing medical illness, but just as with so many things in medicine, we don’t just treat it once and hope that it goes away,” says cardiologist Dr. Rob Stevenson. “It’s a chronic illness. You need to keep up the fight.”
Offenders of the new policy won’t be punished – at least not right away. Instead, they will be offered smoking cessation suggestions, as opposed to tickets.
With files from CTV Atlantic's Andy Campbell
