I received the following email (which I have edited for succinctness) asking for a change to current practices regulating smoking adjacent to health care facilities. As I understand it, both Homewood and the General have implemented a no-smoking on hospital property policy. While municipalities may not have the legislative authority to enforce greater restrictions, it does present an interesting moral dilemma. How should we as a community treat health care patients who smoke? ian
Homewood has enforced a smoking ban on the property. The problem arises in the fact that the by-law for smoking is for smokers to be no closer than nine metres from the front entrance of a building.
I am hoping that a motion could be brought forth to city council, by you and Mr. Van Hellmond who represent this Ward, to increase the distance smokers have to be away from a Health Care Facility front entrance.
As I am sure you have noticed the outside of the Homewood has an increase of folks hanging out, blocking the sidewalk, littering their cigarette butts and spitting on the ground. I am sure you have also noticed people in wheel chairs and people with IV bags outside on the sidewalk in front of Guelph General Hospital.
This is NOT a picture of health care. Both the Homewood and The Guelph General are powerless to ask people to move farther away from the entrance. This is also a problem for pedestrians and visitors of the Homewood in particular who have to weave their way through the crowd and the smoke to get into the building.
I am asking you to put forth an amendment to the current by-law that would push the distance anyone can smoke near a Health Care Facility entrance from nine metres to 150-200 metres.
This distance would be sufficient to remove smokers from the front of both facilities and would create a better public image and possibly be a big enough deterrent for some people to quit smoking as opposed to having to walk a great distance.