1 May 2009

May Day for smokers in ACT Health

| johnboy
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Katy Gallagher has announced that D-Day has arrived for the hard-smoking health workers of Canberra.

    All ACT Health facilities will be smoke free from today, marking another step in the ACT Government’s program to reduce the harmful effects of tobacco smoke.

    ACT Health Minister, Katy Gallagher MLA, said smoking would now only be permitted in approved designated outdoor smoking areas.

    “Each ACT Health worksite has only one designated outdoor smoking area for staff, as well as a separate area for visitors and healthcare consumers,” Ms Gallagher said.

    The Minister said support had been provided to staff through free nicotine replacement therapy while patients admitted to Canberra Hospital would be assisted to manage their nicotine dependence while in hospital.

So one small bureacratic box ticked, just watch the disruption flow.

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“I’m a smoker and I reserve the right to do so in a manner that does not affect other non-smokers.”
Unfortunatly all smoking affects others. Whether it be someone having to smell it in the air as the walk into the mall/their office or while driving there cars or through secondary affects through being a burden on the health care system or a burden on further tax monies for anti smoking campaigns etc.

Howerver I do agree that they should just ban tobacco as the whole thing seems so hypocritical.
“We don’t condome smoking and we will make it hard for you do do so, but we are happy to take your money and provide you with the supplies to do it”

I’m a smoker and I reserve the right to do so in a manner that does not affect other non-smokers.

This kind of topic annoys me everytime it comes up. I’m still at a loss as to why the governments of the day (state and federal) make all these smoking bans and bleat that smokers are a burden on the health system, yet they still won’t make cigarette’s illegal.

Oh that’s right they’d lose all that money in Tobacco Excise – Although if smokers are such a burden on the public health system wouldn’t it be cheaper to ban Tobacco and lose the excise than forking out all that cash when the smoker’s get sick?

You do the math

I know of at least one ACT health site (shared with other organisations) where there is no “designated smoking area”. The rules say they have to leave the site entirely- and cross the road, in fact- to smoke; much to the amusement of everyone else who works there, as they can puff anywhere they want (as long as it’s 7 metres or somesuch from an entrance/air vent).

trevar said :

You’d think the easiest thing to do would just be to make smoking illegal,

If they make smoking illegal I start smoking again just to piss them off.

You sound like my dad: he happily wore seat belts until they passed a law making it compulsory, then he refused (until one day (a good decade later), he had a little prang and bit his tongue when his chin hit the steering wheel; needless to say we all laughed at him and offered no sympathy).

Your Dad is a true hero who sacrificed the structural integrity of his tongue so that one day we may break free from these bonds of slavery. If I knew who he was I would buy him a beer…and then make sure he now wears a seatbelt safe in the knowledge that he does so freely and without fear of the iron fist of our oppressors. Though you do not appreciate his stand I beg you to pass onto him the message that I think he is a great man.

I respect (sort of) the govts right to set policy on it’s property even though they have failed to reciprocate.

Then again none of us have illodial title. Mmm serf goodness.

gun street girl8:42 pm 01 May 09

The best thing about the whole campaign has been the amusing emails sent in installments from management, justifying the whole exercise.

I’ve just heard in a break in the footy. A Canberra Health free of smoking add. I’m so glad I can elect a government and trust it to guard the public purse.

Beam me up Scotty.

barking toad said :

“healthcare consumers”? Does that bit of pubic service speak mean “patients”?

deny some of them their nicotine, and i guarantee they won’t be patient at all.

barking toad2:58 pm 01 May 09

“healthcare consumers”? Does that bit of pubic service speak mean “patients”?

They are being herded into certain areas before the Final Solution is enacted.

Force them to all smoke together in a small room and let nature take it’s course?

There are now only 2 designated smokers areas at TCH, one for patients and one for staff. The patient one is right at one end of the building and quite inconvenient, and the staff one is on the Yamba Dr side of the A&E Building so that everyone can drive down Yamba Dr and point at health professionals performing unhealthy acts!! On a positive note though the hospital has made nicotine patches free for both groups for 4 weeks with a further 4 weeks extension if necessary and staff are able to access a smoking cessation course called “Fresh Start” through the workplace.

deezagood said :

So what is the difference between now and before? Were they allowed to smoke inside before? Most smokers tend to congregate together in particular outside spots anyway … not exactly sure what this has achieved (or why?). Have they just moved smokers away from doorways? Is their smoking being monitored/rationed? Please explain.

They are being herded into certain areas before the Final Solution is enacted.

So what is the difference between now and before? Were they allowed to smoke inside before? Most smokers tend to congregate together in particular outside spots anyway … not exactly sure what this has achieved (or why?). Have they just moved smokers away from doorways? Is their smoking being monitored/rationed? Please explain.

I’m not a smoker, but I believe in the rights of every person, and so for anyone (especially the elderly who were mislead about any dangers) who are smokers, I think it’s wrong to be put into a small “containment zone” like they’re some kind of leper.
I don’t think smoking indoors should be allowed, but surely out in the open (away from non-smokers as they tend to avoid anywhere smokers congregate anyway) should be sufficient for the legally addicted populous.

You’d think the easiest thing to do would just be to make smoking illegal,

If they make smoking illegal I start smoking again just to piss them off.

You sound like my dad: he happily wore seat belts until they passed a law making it compulsory, then he refused (until one day (a good decade later), he had a little prang and bit his tongue when his chin hit the steering wheel; needless to say we all laughed at him and offered no sympathy).

peterh said :

I pity the poor security guard who has to enforce the no smoking rules. some of the smokers at TCH are very angry little units at the best of times…

I think these people get so many scowls and insults from people walking into the hospital, as well as having to wait for their nicotine hit, that they get very very angry sometimes.

G-Fresh said :

Ah, more smoke and mirrors from Katy Gallagher.

different portfolio, different set of ways to annoy the punters. how long till barr gets health, too?

Ah, more smoke and mirrors from Katy Gallagher.

I pity the poor security guard who has to enforce the no smoking rules. some of the smokers at TCH are very angry little units at the best of times…

It will only take one or two more generations for smoking to become a negligible problem anyway… don’t encourage them to pass more laws!

You’d think the easiest thing to do would just be to make smoking illegal, considering they are fazing out smoking basically everywhere. Soon enough I won’t even be able to have a cigarette in my own home. But then they would be losing out on millions and millions of dollars on tax a month – no way the government would pass that up!!

…except in the “designated outdoor smoking area for staff”, I guess you mean?

So theyre trying to encourage more people to work in the field, but at the same time theyre reducing options for workers? I dunno about the people theyre looking for, but I know personally I prefer jobs where the employer gives me more flexibility than less, especially if theyre trying to attract me to a job.

Poor pay, poor conditions, and now the staff cant even go for a smoko break to get away from it all.

I noticed a few weeks ago at a hospital in a country town that this already appears to be in place in NSW.

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