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Hospital, others going tobacco-free
BY CHRISTINA HALE, Staff Writer
To promote community wellness the Beaufort County Hospital is banning smoking and the use of tobacco products anywhere on campus, even in personal vehicles, beginning May 31.
Smoking is already banned inside the hospital and has been allowed only in designated areas outside. The decision to go totally tobacco-free began as a recommendation from the hospital administration and was endorsed by the board of trustees.
Chairman Curtis Potter of Aurora said the administration brought the idea to the board about a year ago and felt the timing was right.
All of the University Health System campuses — Pitt, Heritage, Chowan, Roanoke-Chowan and Bertie — are joining the Healthy Hospital Initiative with North Carolina Prevention Partners.
Dr. Melva Fager Okun, with the NC Prevention Partners office, said that “experience from other hospitals shows that such policies help people move from just thinking about quitting tobacco to actually doing it.”
Diane Jackson, a claims analyst at Beaufort County Hospital, has been a smoker for 34 years and said the policy will help her as an incentive to quit.
Jackson has been working at the hospital since 1980 and remembers when employees were allowed to smoke inside the building. She said cigarettes could be purchased inside the hospital from vending machines for about 35 cents a pack. Now, she said, cigarettes cost her $26 a carton, which doesn’t even last her a week.
Some hospital employees do not plan to quit and are not in favor of the tobacco-free policy. They agreed to comment but wouldn’t give their names. One smoker said she wished the policy wouldn’t happen.
One non-smoker said she didn’t think the policy would work because so many employees smoke and would find a way to continue.
One ex-smoker said she felt employees who work an honest day’s work should be allowed the pleasure of smoking during breaks.
Because the policy requires smokers to go off the property, some said their lunch hour would be the only time they could smoke.
Jackson said just smoking during lunch time won’t be worth it for her. She plans to take advantage of the smoking cessation classes that the hospital has been offering since the fall.
The classes are also available to the public, said Judy VanDorp, manager of the Lifestyles Medical Fitness Center at the hospital. The next class begins May 30 at 4:30 p.m. and meets every week for about seven weeks. (For information on any of the center’s programs, call 252-975-4236.)
The first two weeks of the program, VanDorp said, are preparation. Then participants “quit cold turkey during a special ceremony where cigarettes are thrown away.”
The class encourages the use of quitting tools, such as patches and prescriptions, and shows smokers how to use them appropriately. VanDorp said the buddy system works best. “They talk each other out of smoking, and everybody has the same problem and can understand.”
“To give people an idea of the seriousness,’ she said, “our pulmonary rehabilitation classes are always full and there is a waiting list.”.
According to the The National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, or COPD, is a disease in which the lungs are damaged, making it hard to breathe, and cigarette smoking is the most common cause. Most people with COPD are smokers or former smokers. VanDorp said it’s important for these patients to exercise their lungs or they could become completely inactive.
Dr. Jennie Crews, of the Marion L. Shepard Cancer Center, said the policy “goes along with the hospital’s initiative to maintain health through prevention.”
According to the American Lung Association, smoking is the primary cause of lung disease and the most avoidable cause of death.
Crews said that “anything we can do to discourage that behavior will lead to good health in the population.” She also agrees that the hospital policy will give smokers the incentive to quit.
Jackson said she heard other employees complain about the policy but feels that “things happen for a reason, and it will be good for us and for others around us.” She said her sister being diagnosed with lung cancer was more incentive for her to quit. She added, “I hope it’s not too late.”
The hospital will ban patients and visitors as well as employees from using tobacco anywhere on hospital property.
The cancer center, the fitness center, BCH Home Health, Pamlico Medical Equipment Services, Chocowinity Family Care, Aurora Medical Center and Seaboard Surgical Associates are also going tobacco-free May 31. According to the NC Prevention Partners web site, 32 hospitals statewide have passed tobacco-free campus policies.
Smoking is already banned inside the hospital and has been allowed only in designated areas outside. The decision to go totally tobacco-free began as a recommendation from the hospital administration and was endorsed by the board of trustees.
Chairman Curtis Potter of Aurora said the administration brought the idea to the board about a year ago and felt the timing was right.
All of the University Health System campuses — Pitt, Heritage, Chowan, Roanoke-Chowan and Bertie — are joining the Healthy Hospital Initiative with North Carolina Prevention Partners.
Dr. Melva Fager Okun, with the NC Prevention Partners office, said that “experience from other hospitals shows that such policies help people move from just thinking about quitting tobacco to actually doing it.”
Diane Jackson, a claims analyst at Beaufort County Hospital, has been a smoker for 34 years and said the policy will help her as an incentive to quit.
Jackson has been working at the hospital since 1980 and remembers when employees were allowed to smoke inside the building. She said cigarettes could be purchased inside the hospital from vending machines for about 35 cents a pack. Now, she said, cigarettes cost her $26 a carton, which doesn’t even last her a week.
Some hospital employees do not plan to quit and are not in favor of the tobacco-free policy. They agreed to comment but wouldn’t give their names. One smoker said she wished the policy wouldn’t happen.
One non-smoker said she didn’t think the policy would work because so many employees smoke and would find a way to continue.
One ex-smoker said she felt employees who work an honest day’s work should be allowed the pleasure of smoking during breaks.
Because the policy requires smokers to go off the property, some said their lunch hour would be the only time they could smoke.
Jackson said just smoking during lunch time won’t be worth it for her. She plans to take advantage of the smoking cessation classes that the hospital has been offering since the fall.
The classes are also available to the public, said Judy VanDorp, manager of the Lifestyles Medical Fitness Center at the hospital. The next class begins May 30 at 4:30 p.m. and meets every week for about seven weeks. (For information on any of the center’s programs, call 252-975-4236.)
The first two weeks of the program, VanDorp said, are preparation. Then participants “quit cold turkey during a special ceremony where cigarettes are thrown away.”
The class encourages the use of quitting tools, such as patches and prescriptions, and shows smokers how to use them appropriately. VanDorp said the buddy system works best. “They talk each other out of smoking, and everybody has the same problem and can understand.”
“To give people an idea of the seriousness,’ she said, “our pulmonary rehabilitation classes are always full and there is a waiting list.”.
According to the The National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, or COPD, is a disease in which the lungs are damaged, making it hard to breathe, and cigarette smoking is the most common cause. Most people with COPD are smokers or former smokers. VanDorp said it’s important for these patients to exercise their lungs or they could become completely inactive.
Dr. Jennie Crews, of the Marion L. Shepard Cancer Center, said the policy “goes along with the hospital’s initiative to maintain health through prevention.”
According to the American Lung Association, smoking is the primary cause of lung disease and the most avoidable cause of death.
Crews said that “anything we can do to discourage that behavior will lead to good health in the population.” She also agrees that the hospital policy will give smokers the incentive to quit.
Jackson said she heard other employees complain about the policy but feels that “things happen for a reason, and it will be good for us and for others around us.” She said her sister being diagnosed with lung cancer was more incentive for her to quit. She added, “I hope it’s not too late.”
The hospital will ban patients and visitors as well as employees from using tobacco anywhere on hospital property.
The cancer center, the fitness center, BCH Home Health, Pamlico Medical Equipment Services, Chocowinity Family Care, Aurora Medical Center and Seaboard Surgical Associates are also going tobacco-free May 31. According to the NC Prevention Partners web site, 32 hospitals statewide have passed tobacco-free campus policies.
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