[gunman42782]

At the start of the new year, the hospital I work at is going to go completely smoke free. It has been smoke-free inside the bldg. for years now, long before I started working there, but now it will be that way outside as well. Now I don't smoke. But I think this is crazy, to demand no one smoke outside on their property. And seeing as how I am going to be the one that has to (try) and enforce it, I really think this sucks! I mean, this is KY for God's sake, the home of great whiskey, fast woman, faster horses, and tobacco! Besides marijuna, tobacco is our #1 cash crop. (That may sound like a joke, and it is, but it is also sadly the truth.) The reason given for this policy is that the Joint Commission is demanding it, and in order to get paid for Medicare, the hospital must be Joint Commission accredited. But, I bet if they were the ones that had to enforce this insane rule, they might think twice. Sorry for the rant, I just had to vent.

------------------

 

[snarski]

I dont smoke, used to but quit because I wanted to. What anyone else does is their bisness. If Im in a restaurant I prefer none smoking but am not anal about it. They have never convinced me that smoking outside is going to hurt someone passing by. Worked in steel mills, rolling mills, coal mines, and even farm dust has got to be worse. Like everything else its got to be about control.[V]

 

[sheepdog]

For another viewpoint-I have asthma-used to be real bad-only worked half the time...I was going to VA for help---when I went to the VA entrance or emergency room entrance with a fish-out-of-water-gasping attack, I had to walk through 15-20 employees/patients puffing and blowing, and it was a real chore...made my life a lot worse...I think it'd make a lot more sense to designate a smokeyard away from the building...put a canopy on it for rain/sun, and let them go for it there...won't hurt anyone there....except themselves. The way they've done it, it'll make a heck of a lot of busy work for security, and cause a lot of hard feelings...policy was surely set by non-smokers...

 

[snarski]

Good point. Never thought of it that way.

 

[gunman42782]

Well, this place does have designated smoking areas right now, although it sometimes is a problem when people smoke around the entrances. It is a pain in the butt now just keeping them out of the entrances, so imagine the crap I am gonna have to put up with when it goes smoke free!

 

[Calvin Wiles]

St. Edwards Hospital in Ft. Smith, Ar has boxed in Gazebo's that smokers go in to smoke. Works good for them.

 

[sheepdog]

Fair to all and offends noone....

 

[snarski]

Sounds fair

 

[Tweek]

At least it's still the property owner's decision there. My county just passed an ordnance that starting in 2008 bans smoking from businesses. In the breakrooms, company vehicles, entries & exits, etc. That will have a penalty of $100 first offense, $500 for the second.

I tell ya, the day a cop hands me a ticket for smoking (a LEGAL activity) on PRIVATE property (my workplace), this country has truly gone to sh*t.

 

[morsecode]

I mow a couple places that are smoke free, inside and out. It tickles me to think some poor guy dying for a smoke gets to watch me ride back and forth for an hour puffing my cigar. Maybe it's my usual pro gun t-shirt attire, maybe it's my scowl...but no one has had the need to come tell me to put it out. Not that I would anyway.[}]

 

[rman]

Sadly, I am a smoker. I try to be courteous about it. Seems that the Medical folks are going to get tougher and tougher on this. The hospital that I usual frequent, used to have an isolated shelter with heat, light and fans. They also completely banned smoking on the hospital property. Makes me wonder what the staff are doing, as most of the people who used the shelter worked at the hospital! I can see right now that I can never be sick or visit sick folks again.

 

[sheepdog]

If they can accomodate other groups like they do (nuff said) then they can accomodate smokers....realizing that folks will smoke if they want to-it's common decency to provide a safe place...I'm not bothered with smoke now...work and ride with a heavy smoker-but I know 2 people who get gut-sick at the smell(I think it's psychosomatic)....put up a shelter roof out there in the yard and everyone's happy...except for the PC busybodies who won't BE happy.....now if those smokers start demanding footbaths in their shelter.................

 

[tkarter]

Spent some time down at the University of Texas Medical Center in Galveston. No smoking on the property. 3 blocks away the cigarette butts were piled a mile high.

tk

 

[jimbo1096]

I smoked for 30+ years, now a quitter- and proud of it. I don't have a problem with designated smoking areas, but do have a problem with over regulation. Louisiana has recently passed laws prohibiting smoking in stores and public places. City of Shreveport won't let you smoke on any public property, even if it's out in the middle of a big field in one of the parks. Big fines if ticketed. That's getting riduculous, and infringing on the right for someone to smoke themself to death if they want to. There need to be some common sense injected into our government at some point.

 

[sheepdog]

Common sense don't make them money-sounds like that's what that's about...revenue........Shreveport's gone to the d..........no, it's gone far worse than that....8 members of the police force arrested this year so far...dope and shootings and the daily news reads like one big crime wave.....big fines instead of little warnings= it's all about the money....

 

[RVN11B]

I got a funny one for your consideration.

A couple of years ago my son was struck by a hit and run driver while he was riding his bike.

During a visit on the eave of his release from the hospital I was sitting by his bed just giving him a hard time as usual when one of the nurses walked by the door.

Now I had stopped smoking my pipe years previously but still when under stress will chew on the pipe stem.

Please note that this was a new UNSMOKED pipe I carry for this reason.

As I was saying I was chatting with said son with the pipe IN MY HAND when she, the nurse, storms in and proceeds to give me hell.

While she was spouting chapter and verse, I glanced over to my son and winked.

I waited until she just had to stop and take a breath, stood up, took a couple steps toward her, and showed her the pristine bowl of the pipe.

I then told her to take a sniff too prove that the pipe was indeed not loaded or lit.

Believe it or not it made no difference to her. She started up once again getting nastier with every word.

Having reached my tolerance for stupidity I took one more step closer, which placed her nose about three inches from mine and I lit in to her reality with some very choice words and phrases that i wont relate here.

Result was she immediately turned about and left the room at high speed calling for the floor supervisor.

Once the supervisor learned the situation she apologized to me and went to have a quiet talk with the indignant nurse.

That next morning as I wheeled my son toward the elevator nurse loudmouth was glaring at me from the nurses station. I just gave her my best deadpan look, stuck the pipe in my teeth and we left.

 

[sheepdog]

Dontcha just love it when they do it to themselves while you get to watch?!!!

 

[blade]

Sadly, it's just another brick in The WALL.

 

[Wizard]

I worked with nurses all my life, and they are the worst of the worst.

Laws against smoking have gone totally overboard. BTW: I am an EX-smoker.

 

[tkarter]

You really need to have someone like my father in law that lives with us. 85 years old and has smoked his whole adult life and doesn't really believe they can make a law to prohibit him smoking.

He surprisingly enough hasn't been ticketed. He plays his hard of hearing card when they tell him no smoking. I find it hard to keep a straight face while he is giving someone else a heart attack amount of grief over what he considereds and infringments on his right.

There isn't much WW II vets like him won't fight for when they believe someone is wrong.

I am proud of him.

tk