Strict measures for those who smoke in hospital. The G. Martino University Hospital of Messina launches a campaign to combat smoking within hospital environments and appeals to both users and employees.
A necessary action to strengthen compliance with a consolidated law (Law 3/2003) which prohibits smoking in all public and work places, including internal and external hospital spaces; a law that is often not applied in everyday life, not only by users but also by employees.
“We are no longer willing to tolerate – underlines the general director Giorgio Giulio Santonocito – incorrect behavior which first of all poses a risk to health and at the same time creates increasingly unhealthy environments. Every violation will be reported and the sanctions that the law provides will be adopted”.
The initiative is aimed at the entire hospital community – patients, family members and caregivers, visitors, healthcare workers and others – with the aim of guaranteeing a safe, aware and consistent environment with the values of care and research.
Even among healthcare workers, smoking remains an open challenge. According to data published by the Istituto Superiore di Sanità, the prevalence of smokers among doctors and non-medical healthcare personnel stands at around 20%, with a slight reduction in recent years.