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Smoking in secure psychiatric facilities
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Section 6 of the Smokefree
Environments Act permits health care institutions to permit smoking in a
dedicated, ventilated room exhausted to outside air. Some staff of these
units are required to enter the rooms of disturbed patients who are
nicotine addicted, and are thus inevitably exposed to second hand
cigarette smoke. Yet employers are responsible for providing a healthy
and safe workplace.
NRT
(Nicotine Replacement Therapy). The provision of nicotine patches and gum to patients
can reduce the need to smoke so many cigarettes. Whereas staff, in order
to prevent chain smoking may have previously restricted cigarettes issued
to one per hour (from the patient’s own supply), issuing nicotine
gum instead of a cigarette will make the place less smoky, and better protect
patient health.
Addictive
nicotine.
As addictive nicotine
products becomes available, it may
be possible to shift patients off cigarettes fairly rapidly and let them
obtain ample addictive nicotine in a way that does not pollute the air
for the staff who attend them.
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Dr Murray Laugesen QSO chair; Prof Ross McCormick, Sir John Scott KBE, Trish
Fraser MPH, Dr Marewa Glover, Trustees
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