Smoking bans in hospitals need consideration: Researchers

Indoor air quality in hospitals is an
important health issue.

The indoor air quality in hospitals should be the best and healthiest possible. That's a given.

But it may not be as simple as banning smoking from indoors and around entrances or parking lots, a new study shows.

The researchers enrolled 186 participants (82 patients and 81 health care professionals) at two large hospitals in Canada.

They found that despite the ban and prohibiting signs, patients and staff continued to smoke on hospital grounds, probably because strict bans don’t take into account that some tobacco users are actually addicted.

Patients and staff identified safety concerns over leaving the hospital wards to smoke. The researchers say that hospitals need to view the tobacco smoking ban as a treatment issue and offer support and guidance to manage tobacco withdrawal symptoms and abstain from smoking during the hospital stay.

Source: Canadian Medical Association Journal

Clean air in hospitals

Even when smoking is banned, the indoor air in hospitals can be polluted – and conventional heating and ventilation systems are generally not enough to filter out contaminants.

Portable, stand-alone air cleaners with activated carbon + HEPA + UV can help clean the air by removing many chemicals, odors, dust, particles, bacteria, viruses and mold. Electrocorp has specifically designed air cleaners for hospitals and healthcare environments.

Contact Electrocorp for more information and recommendations.