District of Columbia: Four more District hospitals become tobacco free
Issue date: 11/30/08 Section: Neighborhood
Four District hospitals instituted 100% tobacco-free campus policies last week, in honor of the American Cancer Society's Great American Smoke Out.
The use of tobacco has been prohibited for several years inside Georgetown University Hospital, Washington Hospital Center and the Specialty Hospitals of Washington at Hadley and Capitol Hill.
The tobacco-free policies will now prohibit any use of tobacco products outside on all campus grounds, including the parking areas. This includes smoking in vehicles parked in the hospital parking lots.
These healthcare facilities will join more than 1200 hospitals nationwide, including Saint Elizabeth's, Providence, and Sibley Hospitals in D.C., that have implemented strict all-campus no-tobacco use policies.
Hospitals implementing this policy feel strongly that as healthcare institutions they must set the standard for health behaviors that improve the quality of life. Tobacco use remains the leading cause of death and disease killing 720 District residents and more than 440,000 Americans every year. It is responsible for more than $221 million in D.C. healthcare costs to treat tobacco-related disease, and more than $96 billion dollars nationwide.
"Taking steps towards making their campuses tobacco free shows a true commitment on the part of these hospitals to making their healthcare facilities a place where the public can go without compromising their health," said Dr. Pierre Vigilance, Director of the District of Columbia Department of Health. "Facilities that initiate tobacco-free policies are leading the way by promoting healthy lifestyles and preventing diseases."
Each hospital will continue to offer free cessation counseling, nicotine patches and lozenges to its patients and employees who want to quit after the policy has been implemented. In observance of GASO, the hospitals, with the help of DCTFF, will host health fairs and offer screenings to assess smokers' carbon monoxide levels, which increase due to tobacco use. Smokers will be encouraged to call D.C.'s Quitline for free assistance.
"The Lung Association commends these healthcare institutions for taking the initiative to ensure the safety and well-being of its staff, visitors and patients," says Rolando Andrewn, CEO of the Lung Association. "We have been proud to work with each of these hospitals to prepare the community and staff by offering smoking cessation programs and resources."
The DC Tobacco Free Families Campaign, a partnership of the DC Department of Health, American Lung Association of DC, and the American Cancer Society, provides services to help local hospitals go tobacco free.
For more information, call DC's free Quitline, 800-QUIT NOW.
The use of tobacco has been prohibited for several years inside Georgetown University Hospital, Washington Hospital Center and the Specialty Hospitals of Washington at Hadley and Capitol Hill.
The tobacco-free policies will now prohibit any use of tobacco products outside on all campus grounds, including the parking areas. This includes smoking in vehicles parked in the hospital parking lots.
These healthcare facilities will join more than 1200 hospitals nationwide, including Saint Elizabeth's, Providence, and Sibley Hospitals in D.C., that have implemented strict all-campus no-tobacco use policies.
Hospitals implementing this policy feel strongly that as healthcare institutions they must set the standard for health behaviors that improve the quality of life. Tobacco use remains the leading cause of death and disease killing 720 District residents and more than 440,000 Americans every year. It is responsible for more than $221 million in D.C. healthcare costs to treat tobacco-related disease, and more than $96 billion dollars nationwide.
"Taking steps towards making their campuses tobacco free shows a true commitment on the part of these hospitals to making their healthcare facilities a place where the public can go without compromising their health," said Dr. Pierre Vigilance, Director of the District of Columbia Department of Health. "Facilities that initiate tobacco-free policies are leading the way by promoting healthy lifestyles and preventing diseases."
Each hospital will continue to offer free cessation counseling, nicotine patches and lozenges to its patients and employees who want to quit after the policy has been implemented. In observance of GASO, the hospitals, with the help of DCTFF, will host health fairs and offer screenings to assess smokers' carbon monoxide levels, which increase due to tobacco use. Smokers will be encouraged to call D.C.'s Quitline for free assistance.
"The Lung Association commends these healthcare institutions for taking the initiative to ensure the safety and well-being of its staff, visitors and patients," says Rolando Andrewn, CEO of the Lung Association. "We have been proud to work with each of these hospitals to prepare the community and staff by offering smoking cessation programs and resources."
The DC Tobacco Free Families Campaign, a partnership of the DC Department of Health, American Lung Association of DC, and the American Cancer Society, provides services to help local hospitals go tobacco free.
For more information, call DC's free Quitline, 800-QUIT NOW.
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