Can E-Cigarettes Be Used in Hospitals? The Ban Has Been Lifted!
Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust, which operates both Queen's Medical Centre and City Hospital in the UK, has lifted its ban on e-cigarette use in hospitals after the Royal College of Physicians confirmed that vaping is safer than smoking. It is
Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust, a hospital trust in the UK that operates both the Queen's Medical Centre and City Hospital, has lifted its ban on the use of vaping devices in hospitals after the Royal College of Physicians confirmed that vaping is safer than cigarettes. It is one of the first hospital trusts in England to allow vaping devices to be used on hospital grounds.
The trust said that because there is evidence showing vaping is 95% less harmful than smoking, and because it can help people quit smoking, they decided to remove the hospital ban on vaping devices.
Although the ban has been lifted, vaping devices are still prohibited indoors in the hospital, because they do produce odor or flavor, and some patients do not like others using vaping devices indoors.
Dr. Stephen Foley, Medical Director, said: “We have a responsibility to help our patients make healthier lifestyle choices. As a form of nicotine replacement therapy, vaping devices offer many potential benefits, so we allow vaping devices to be used in our hospitals in the hope of helping staff and patients quit smoking. Although the use of vaping devices can sometimes raise issues of public etiquette, we believe it is more important to help people break free from the harms of cigarettes.”
Professor John Britton, Respiratory Consultant, said: “We need to encourage smoking patients to use medicinal nicotine or vaping devices while receiving treatment in hospital to help them quit smoking, because cigarettes cause too much harm and must be given up as early as possible. However, it is very difficult to quit successfully through willpower alone.”
The hospital’s new smoking policy also promises to provide smoking cessation services for patients and staff. As health awareness continues to grow, people are paying more and more attention to wellness and gradually abandoning unhealthy habits. The momentum behind quitting smoking is also rising rapidly, and because of their perceived health-related advantages, vaping devices are being used by many people as a cigarette alternative, gradually becoming a popular trend.
The trust said that because there is evidence showing vaping is 95% less harmful than smoking, and because it can help people quit smoking, they decided to remove the hospital ban on vaping devices.
Although the ban has been lifted, vaping devices are still prohibited indoors in the hospital, because they do produce odor or flavor, and some patients do not like others using vaping devices indoors.
Dr. Stephen Foley, Medical Director, said: “We have a responsibility to help our patients make healthier lifestyle choices. As a form of nicotine replacement therapy, vaping devices offer many potential benefits, so we allow vaping devices to be used in our hospitals in the hope of helping staff and patients quit smoking. Although the use of vaping devices can sometimes raise issues of public etiquette, we believe it is more important to help people break free from the harms of cigarettes.”Professor John Britton, Respiratory Consultant, said: “We need to encourage smoking patients to use medicinal nicotine or vaping devices while receiving treatment in hospital to help them quit smoking, because cigarettes cause too much harm and must be given up as early as possible. However, it is very difficult to quit successfully through willpower alone.”
The hospital’s new smoking policy also promises to provide smoking cessation services for patients and staff. As health awareness continues to grow, people are paying more and more attention to wellness and gradually abandoning unhealthy habits. The momentum behind quitting smoking is also rising rapidly, and because of their perceived health-related advantages, vaping devices are being used by many people as a cigarette alternative, gradually becoming a popular trend.
