Smokers

Nurses General Nursing

Published

You are reading page 2 of Smokers

NursNikNak

5 Posts

I'm a hospice nurse and have seen some of my patients gasping for their last breath (literally) trying to get out to the smoking lounge for another puff or two (declining wheelchair assist). So I should CERTAINLY know better, right? Well, what does anyone make of this: I ONLY smoke at work...I work 2 double shifts back to back, so I have 5 totally smoke-free days a week...I don't even think about smoking until I go to work...I just can't figure it out...any ideas out there??:confused:

willie2001

108 Posts

I agree that smokers take more break time that non-smokers. They quickly volunteer to take a patient out to smoke, if the patient requests to go, no matter how busy it is. Our hospital has an area called the "smoke shack". The money for the "smoke shack" was willed to the hospital for the specific purpose of it's building. The patient who willed the money died of lung cancer. How ironic. I understand that this person willed other monies , but for the hospital to get that money, the smoking area had to be built. We are suppose to be a smoke free facility, but our principles were compromised for the almighty dollar. Employees and patients come back from the the "shack" reeking of cigarette smoke. The smell is very offensive to non-smoking co-workers and patients alike. The majority of smokers here work the 7p-7a and 11-7 shifts. I will come on in the am and sometimes the first thing a patient will say to me is "I hope you don't smoke". Smokers who say that they are always considerate of non-smokers don't realize that the smell is on their breath, hair and clothes and it's not a very nice thing to have to smell especially if you're laying in a hospital bed and not feeling well in the first place.

CVSDnurse

24 Posts

I am an on again off again smoker-when I am in a quit mode the smell of smokers grosses me out and I think "god-I smell like that" but of course you don't notice when you are smoking. I personally find that when I start a new job/new department, the smokers are the ones I relate to on a personal level ie: I like to take break with the smokers, they are good to vent with. I also notice when I am not smoking I don't take the extra breaks so when I am not (smoking) I make the time excuse myself for a few minute break -the time is usually there- when it gets stressful. I found that whether I skip lunch or not, I am still there catching up on my charting after my shift is done. My advice to the nonsmokers who are resentful, take your own break-you need it too. I also find it to be amazing how your patients are often fine(no call lights) when you are at lunch/ taking a break if you check on all of them quick before you leave the floor and tell them you will be stepping away for a few minutes. And be careful to not blame the "picking up others slack" on the smokers, there are plenty of people who are in the bathroom every 2 hours touching up their makeup and hair although it takes longer(no smell to clue you in)on why you are always getting their lights.

I am an ex smoker who gave up because of all the reasons mentioned, coworkers, work allocation, time off the unit etc. However I wont deny anyone a ciggy break if they want it. It is all about team work. You get back what you give it is called karma.

Cheers.

mario_ragucci

1,041 Posts

Throwing butts out the window of a car is wrong, but so is dripping petroleum substances from the engine, unto to a already polluted earth. Folks that speak directly to you with tobacco-breath are yucky, but so are the ones that don't FLOSS, because I can smell THEIR lactobascilli endproducts :o

Smoking around folks eating is bad manners to the max. I understand that not everyone takes pleasure in eating the way I do. The same way a person can take pleasure in smoking, and may look at my eating as secondary to their cigarette time:rolleyes:

I remember a long time ago when i was a teenager there were very few restrictions on smoking. Much has changed about smoking, perhaps because non-smokers felt like they had no rights, and rightly so. But smoking can not be banned, and if you choose to smoke you should not be jeered or anything. Tact and maturity are not always in effect.

;) :o :o

I still look forward to the first party I attend, for graduating/RN, and where booze is served. I betcha some folks will not consume alcohol at such a function for image. Don't drink, don't smoke, what do ya do? :confused:

Ha ha - just letting my light feeling show tonight ;)

mattcastens

255 Posts

Look at that. A controversy I didn't start. And one about nurses' health no less.

nurs4kids

753 Posts

Specializes in Pediatric Rehabilitation.

Welllllllllllll, suzy...the butts stink and I don't want them in MY ashtray

I can't blame my addiction on nursing; I smoked BEFORE I became a nurse. I can only kick myself more because now I KNOW the results. We only have two smokers on my shift (well, not counting the guys who smoke their cigars).

I know the smoke stinks..so does loud perfume. Loud perfume offends me. My mom constantly gripes at me about my kids smelling like smoke, so I sympathize with the above poster that grew up smelling like smoke.

I get two 15min paid breaks and one 30 min unpaid for a 12h shift. If I CHOOSE to smoke during that time, that is MY business. What's worse, someone who leaves the floor for an entire hour to eat lunch and whore up and down the halls, or someone who takes three 10 minute smoke breaks throughout the night? I'd much rather watch someone's patients for 10mins than for a whole hour.

As someone else said, checking your patients just before taking a break saves your coworkers alot of grief.

Tried the patch; nauseates me. Tried the gum; tastes like sH*&.

Don't think anyone continues smoking because they want to. It's an addiction and it's hard as hell to break.

You'll NEVER confine us to our cars and homes, but I would love to see that tried. Maybe then smokers will stand up for a few rights themselves.

I'd love to quit. They are slowly killing me and they're expensive as hell. BUT, plain and simple..I'm addicted.

P_RN, ADN, RN

6,011 Posts

Specializes in ORTHOPAEDICS-CERTIFIED SINCE 89.

February 2, 1982 when the doctor told my Mother and I that Daddy had a huge metastatic brain tumor......from another huge one in his lung.

Mama put down her 40+ year..2 pack a day habit.....and she has NEVER started back. Daddy died 23 days after he was diagnosed.

I grew up smelling like the "bar" above. I had many, many ear and throat infections growing up.

My husband's father had cardiomyopathy.....smoked like a chimney.....died 1 year after my father did......

My husband, our daughter, nor I smoke, but our son does! I can't figure it out. He loved both of his grandfathers dearly. His wife is a fitness trainer.

???? WHY?

I don't mind WHAT someone does on their break. Just don't take ALL the smokers on the unit WITH you. There were days that half the staff disappeared at the same time.

I don't want to see an argument develop. It is a matter of choice, addiction, stress, habit........

Just please don't tell me "Well I have to die of SOMETHING."

That's a sad, painful way to die.

Level2Trauma

121 Posts

I

thisnurse

657 Posts

this argument isnt about smoking being bad for you. i think we can all agree on that. where i think we disagree is in our rights.

thats what pisses me off the most about this argument.

i smoke but i dont drink.

i want you to stop drinking. people talk about second hand smoke. in comparison how many innocent lives are lost to drunken drivers?

no one in my immediate family has died from second hand smoke that i know of, but ive lost two to drunken drivers.

i think people that drink should have to do so in a restricted area. maybe a very tiny room where they can be with other people (outcasts) who share their vice. and they should NEVER be allowed to drive. confiscate car keys BEFORE serving them a drink.

and their breath stinks really bad.

i hate people that douse themselves in perfume. they STINK.

i hate people that have body odor. they stink.

and lets talk about little kids. when i am in a store and kids are running around yelling and screaming or there is a baby who just WONT shut up, and the parents wont take them out...I GET A HEADACHE....ITS BAD FOR MY HEALTH.

lets outlaw little kids.

ridiculous or is it?

this thing about smokers taking more breaks, yeah we probably do. but you know if you want to take an extra break or two i dont have a problem watching your patients. if you want to go just walk outside and get some air, i dont have a problem helping you out...JUST ASK ME.

why hold this resentment for us?

if i asked you to watch my patients while i ran down to pick up my pay you probably wouldnt mind. its still leaving the floor and its probably the same amount of time. so why does it bother YOU that i smoke when i leave the floor?

because YOU are judgemental.

i watch anyones patients anytime. maybe im just stupid or something but i really dont care what you do when you leave the floor. but dont be *****ing about me behind my back. if you want the same amount of breaks as i have THEN TAKE THEM!!

im not talking about taking advantage...thats an entirely different subject.

as for smokers throwing butts out the window...thats ignorant. you see lots of cigarette butts, how many beer cans/bottles do you see on the sides of the road. ignorance and bad manners are not exclusive to smokers you know.

Q.

2,259 Posts

Specializes in LDRP; Education.
Originally posted by thisnurse

as for smokers throwing butts out the window...thats ignorant. you see lots of cigarette butts, how many beer cans/bottles do you see on the sides of the road. ignorance and bad manners are not exclusive to smokers you know.

Oh I agree -that bothers me just as much. But the topic was about smokers - and that was ONLY thing that bothered me about them. Otherwise, I could care less who smokes. "some of my closest friends smoke" Sound like a familiar retort? :D

Cig smoke makes me sneeze and sticks to my hair and clothes; I HATE it. And maybe that's why when I see a lit butt go flying against my car because the person in front of me chucked it out the window - I get mad. I DO have yet to see a beer bottle get tossed out the window in front of me; I can safely say I've had more cigarette butts fly against my windshield than any beer bottles. :p

"...Let's outlaw little kids..."

Please, thisnurse... apples and oranges.

Drinkers do hang out together in a small place...They're called PUBS!! Though I agree, let's take their car keys...

I like watching the smokers at the kiosks 500 feet from the building, jamming that cancer stick into their catcher's mitt of a face, all sounding like Bea Arthur (Maude).

I take issue w/ parents smoking in cars. I grew up that way, and now have asthma. Thanks a lot mom and dad.

Take 100 breaks during the shift, We don't care...We're all used to lazy nurses, smokers or not. Just don't trigger my asthma (and the patients) w/ your "I smell like I just got out of a bar" smell.

As for throwing the butts out the window, that sucks. I ride a motorcycle, and have been hit in the face.

+ Add a Comment