Anyone who knows me knows my view on smoking and the impact that second hand smoke has had on my lungs both out in the community and in hospital. I have written countless blog posts on the topic as well. I thought September 5th 2022 was going to be a new dawn, that date marked a change in the law and it was now illegal to smoke within 15m of any hospital building and there was now an enforceable fine if people were caught smoking where they should not.
A freedom of information request was made to find out how many fines had been issued as the smoking issue is no different now than it was before the enforceable ban.
It is no surprise that no fines have been issued.
What makes me so angry is that I saw a news clip where the Minister for Public and Women’s Health at the Scottish Government said it was a good thing that no fines had been issued as they are a last resort. She went on to say that it means other methods are being used to make sure people are not smoking such as education, but the fag butts and cloud of smoke outside the hospital doors tell a different story. Recently I have been up at various hospitals a lot due to my health and there has not been one time when I have not had to walk past someone smoking. If the ban is being enforced and other methods are being used to prevent smoking then the ground would not be littered with fully smoked cigarettes, they would be half smoked as the person smoking would have been interrupted. As I was listening to the news clip I got angrier and angrier.
I decided to write to the Minister for Public Health to put my own viewpoint across and also that of everyone with lung disease who is effected by second hand smoke. My key points in the letter were:
- The ban is not being enforced at all- and the fag butts on the ground prove it
- How second hand smoke can affect someones ability to breathe and the repercussions of that. I explained that there have been several times where I have been attending an out patient appointment in the hospital but have not been able to attend it as I have had to go to A&E and then the Intensive Care Unit all because someone was smoking at the doors of the hospital that I had to go through. I also explained that when on the respiratory ward I had the window open as it was the height of summer and people smoking below the window caused me to have a life threatening asthma attack that sent me to ITU.
- How the lack of enforcement of the smoking ban meant I was unable to get into work safely and was one of the reasons I had to stop work as I could not take the gamble each day. I am very aware that there are only so many life threatening asthma attacks a person can survive and only so many times will you go out of ITU vertically.
- I highlighted the clean air bill which is currently going through the UK Government which states that the ability to breathe clean air is a human right. The people smoking where they are not allowed and are doing an illegal act are preventing people from breathing clean air and therefore denying a basic human right.
- In Scotland (and the UK) we have the health service which is meant to be accessible to everyone living in the UK. It offers care for all. People smoking where they are not meant to is denying a portion of the community from getting health care. We are left having to weigh up wether the risk of passing through the smoke is worth it. We should not be left to choose what condition is worth more to us- everyone should be able to access care safely. In the current climate there is so much stress on the NHS that they cannot afford to have patients miss out patient appointments however this is happening because people want to be able to breathe and want to be able to leave the hospital after their appointment the same day. The risk is just too big.
- I questioned if it will take someone to die from their lung disease which was exacerbated by secondhand smoke which they were exposed to while getting into hospital for action to happen. Essentially the smokers would have committed culpable homicide (not that any charge would stick) if the person was to die. What will the government do then?
- I asked what is being done to support us, to support those who cannot risk being exposed to second hand smoke as it feels like nothing is being done. It is all what can be done to help the smokers which is not doing anything anyway.
I finally got a response from the Minister which actually made me so angry I wanted to pick up the phone to call the Daily Record or Daily Mail to get it out in the press what is happening or what is not happening.
The response was not sympathetic at all. It basically said that the approach being taken with the smoking ban is to educate people who are smoking. They are promoting behaviour change rather than issuing fines. I quote “approaches are being done compassionately and with an awareness of the sensitivities of the hospital setting”. What about the others in the hospital setting, where is the compassion for us?? Why do I need to end up suffering?
I was advised by the Minister should I see people smoking that I am to report this immediately to staff in the hospital. I ask how am I meant to do that when it would require going through the smoke to report it? I have when I have felt brave say to people they cant smoke but I often just get sworn at and told to mind my own business. I never hang around long for risk of having an asthma attack. I was also told to log my complaint with my NHS board- well I have done this before and had a reply telling me that efforts were being done to offer smoking cessation options to smokers. Again this is all things for the smokers, what is being done to help us, help us get into the hospital safely. There is nothing and it is not good enough. Why should we have our access to healthcare denied by those who are breaking the law.
Don’t get me wrong I understand smoking it an addiction which is why I would push for smoking shelters to be put back on hospital grounds. When we had them at least you knew where people were smoking. Just because smoking is an addiction does not mean you cannot wait to get 15m from the hospital building to light up the cigarette. While I would love for everywhere to be smoke free I know it is not going to happen anytime soon.
To finish my letter I suggested a meeting with the Minister to discuss this topic more and work out ways in which change can be made to help all parties. I was not taken up on this as the Ministers diary is too busy but they did say they are committed to a tobacco free Scotland by 2034. It has taken 10 years since the voluntary smoking ban on hospital sites came into action and now the ban is law but the smoking situation has not changed at all so I highly doubt that the whole country will be smoke free by 2034 when they cannot make very small sites smoke free.
My hope is that someone sees this blog post and makes noise about it. If we do not shout about what is happening then nothing will change. The government need to be held accountable for their actions. If they make something law but choose to not enforce it why should we follow other laws like bus lanes or parking tickets- if a compassionate approach is being taken for smoking then why can it not be for parking fines for example??
I feel at my wits end with this. It is so important because it has such a devastating impact on people. It is not like it just bothers someone for a minute or 2 but it can put people into an exacerbation that can result in hospital admissions for weeks or months which has a knock on effect to the community as the person cannot work or look after their family.
Something needs to be done and I will keep shouting about it for as long as I am able. I do not want to die as a result of people smoking where they should not be.
ANONYMOUS-ASTHMA 