I work at a hospital
The NHS is committed to making sure everyone who smokes is offered support to be Smokefree whilst in hospital and follow-up care when they go home.
We are now asking people not to smoke at all on hospital grounds, not even outside and for the first time ever, we are offering support to stop smoking as a standard part of care for all people who smoke, whether they be a patient, visitor or member of staff.
Staff can access free support from their local stop smoking service here. Just get in touch and let them know you are an NHS member of staff, contractor or work at a trust site.
What about vaping?
As vaping is at least 95% less harmful than smoking, we will also be encouraging people who cannot stop smoking using support and medication alone, to try vaping as a way of stopping smoking tobacco entirely.
Vaping is allowed outdoors on all sites, away from visitor entrances and open windows.
NICE guidance NG209 recommends the use of vaping as a complete replacement for smoking, and whilst it recognises that vaping may not be entirely risk free, it is certainly far less harmful than continuing to smoke.
As there is no safe level of tobacco smoking, the guidance recommends that people who vape stop smoking entirely to minimise their risk and that people vape only for as long as required to prevent them from returning to smoking.
They recommend that people providing advice to smokers on the use of vaping devices give clear, consistent and up-to-date information to adults who are interested in using them to stop smoking (for example, see the NCSCT e-cigarette guide and Public Health England’s information on e-cigarettes and vaping). [2021]
