Y-NH to be smoke-free
While Yale-New Haven Hospital makes no butts about its commitment to eradicating secondhand smoke from its premises, the pungent odor of tobacco lingered in the skywalk leading from the hospital’s entrance to the attached parking garage this past Saturday.
After nearly a year of discussions, all Yale-New Haven property, including the parking lot, garages and hospital-owned sidewalks, became 100 percent smoke-free on Jan. 1, 2009, garnering mixed reviews from community members — many of whom are complaining about the regulation’s infringement on personal rights.
The policy...
I am aware, especially as an ex-smoker, of the contradiction posed by the acrid smell of cigarette smoke at a health facility. However, the 3 or 4 cigarettes an employee might smoke outdoors during a workday does not a smoking habit break. And visitors with a loved one in critical, or worse, condition might well need to step outside for a cigarette. It seems to me that totally banning smoking--even in public outdoor areas--bespeaks more of social control than anything else.