Nurses and smoking

[ashleyh_84]

Do you think it is ok if a nurse or a doctor smokes? Because i know when i go to the doctors office with my boyfriend and he tells him that he smokes that he gos on and on of how he shouldnt be smoking at all. But then we go outside and see nurses smoking and such!! So what do you guys think?

[leslie :-D]

i think smokers and non-smokers alike, know the dangers of this habit.

but as a smoker, i never try and present a pollyanna image to my patients.

i do not lecture them about smoking but merely remind them what they already know.

and although i am not overweight, it is not because i am trying to be consistent my my nsg image. i am an rn trying to do the best for my patients, and does not reflect upon my personal habits. i know plenty of colleagues that love their drink, have their own vices but still come to work and deliver competent and excellent care. i refuse to fall into anyone's image but am also careful not to be hypocritical in what i teach my pts.:stone

leslie

[Nemhain]

I couldn't care less if other nurses smoke or not - it IS an informed decision. Just don't expect me to watch your patients for you 5-6 times a day while you go out to "huff and puff".

I agree. While I am an occasional smoker, I never take smoke breaks at work. I like to come home crack open a beer and then have a cigarette or two... everything in moderation (even moderation...sometimes it's good to go hog-wild!!)

[ajs08RN]

If a person smokes or not is not my concern as long as they take care of THEIR patients.

[froghair]

one of my big pet hates at work is nurses that duck out every hr for a smoke........it really annoys me. i dont mind them smoking but do it in your alloted breaks. i dont smoke cigs but i do smoke cigars.. i dont smoke at work and i only smoke on my days off. i might smoke 1 cigar a week or i might smoke 4 in a day. i really enjoy having a cigar and i think its something that a non cigar smoker just wouldnt understand

[scooterRN52]

I quit smoking almost 16 months ago. The smell of smoke makes me physically sick. I wonder many times, how many patient's I made sick because I smelled like an ashtray? Quitting is so very hard, but so worth it!

I agree, smoking is a horrible habit and one that is very difficult to break, I

used to smoke for many years, but gave it up about 4 years ago and wish I had given it up sooner. I work in a cancer hospital and see some horrible head and neck surgery because of long term smoking, I could never go back to smoking now, I can't stand the smell of it on other people, your right it does smell like an ashtray.

[ER Night Owl]

Hang on while I light one up.....I wish. I'm quitting again for myself, it sucks that I still enjoy smoking. My daughter nags at me, the television shows the effects during feedbag time. It's a state-wide conspiracy hee, hee. Cigarettes are out there but each american over a certain age has the right to choose the habit. Everyday decisions are made which can adversely effect each of us directly or indirectly. There are a lot of very bad decisions being made. Driving while celling,eating,sleeping,reading,talking to passengers, applying make-up, picking your nose, blah,blah blah can all result in deliterious sequelae. Let me know if any of you run arcoss a person who smokes and honestly had no idea inhaling smoke was "bad" for them.

[nursejohio, ASN, RN]

The smokers I work with are great, they don't take any extra breaks to get their fix. Generally they don't come back stinky though and if they didn't say they smoked I probably wouldn't know. However, they are nuses and I just can't for the life of me understand how you can work on a critical care floor watching end stage everything caused by 50+ pack years and still do it.

[thatoneguy]

this is a funny thread. it always amazes me how non smokers get so affended. everyone talks about second hand smoke, come on now.

A. as nurse you should all know it takes repeated long term exposure to have any harmful effects. if you live in a house where smokers smoke inside, thats one thing, its not the same as walking by a smokers and smelling it. that just does not harm you.

B. you complain about smokers and the harmful effects of second hand smoke then get in your car and drive on the freeway breathing in all the emissions from your and others cars. why dont you stop driving, after all that effects me and the population more than my smoking effects you.

C. because we are nurses we should not smoke, please. how many times a week do you eat processed foods. do you drink soda? do you buy your meat and veg's at the store, if so than it is more than likely your eating foods filled with steriods and other things. if we should practice what we preach than why eat like this. and lets not talk about all the exercise you preach to your patients but never do yourself.

i think its more of a control issue. i do think smokers should have something for the odor while at work. as far as more breaks i dont see it. but i am sure it happens, but why would that get you upset? if you ask for a break and dont get it while a smoker does ok get mad. but that is not the case you just dont want them to get something you dont get, even though you never ask for it. talk about being professional, how is it professional to demand that someone stop doing something that is legal and frankly none of your business. is it right for me to demand you stop driving, and give you a hard time everytime i see you because you drive? being a nurse does not determine your life style.

[only1lisa]

I am a smoker, I know better, but it is a HORRIBLE addiction. I don't go to the doctor either, but I do not feel that makes me a bad nurse. At least I'm taking better care of my patients than I am of myself!

[jimthorp]

A. as nurse you should all know it takes repeated long term exposure to have any harmful effects. if you live in a house where smokers smoke inside, thats one thing, its not the same as walking by a smokers and smelling it. that just does not harm you.

B. you complain about smokers and the harmful effects of second hand smoke then get in your car and drive on the freeway breathing in all the emissions from your and others cars. why dont you stop driving, after all that effects me and the population more than my smoking effects you.

C. because we are nurses we should not smoke, please. how many times a week do you eat processed foods. do you drink soda? do you buy your meat and veg's at the store, if so than it is more than likely your eating foods filled with steriods and other things. if we should practice what we preach than why eat like this. and lets not talk about all the exercise you preach to your patients but never do yourself.

A. For me it's not the danger, it is the smell. I don't feel I should have to walk through a cloud to enter or exit the building. Put the smoking area where only the smokers will go.

B. Smoking is a choice. Having to walk through a cloud of smoke to get into/out of the building is not a choice if I want to work there. I as an individual cannot do anything about auto exhaust. See "A" above.

C. Healthcare providers should not be deamonized because they engage in practices they know are unhealthy. After all they are human too. Comparing commercial meats/vegies to smoking is comparing apples to oranges. Smoking is a choice whereas eating is not. I could go on and on about the excuses I hear for people not exercising and debunk darn near every one of them.

[thatoneguy]

A. For me it's not the danger, it is the smell. I don't feel I should have to walk through a cloud to enter or exit the building. Put the smoking area where only the smokers will go.

agreed we should be out of the way and use something to cover the smell. at the work place anyway. but this is funny too, we smell urine and all kinds of things but dont complain about that so much and look down on those that make a big deal about it, which shows respect. where did the respect go for smokers, its a control issue with smokers.

B. Smoking is a choice. Having to walk through a cloud of smoke to get into/out of the building is not a choice if I want to work there. I as an individual cannot do anything about auto exhaust. See "A" above.

yeah you can, you could not drive. you could disrespect and ridicule those that do, like some do to people who do smoke. driving is a choice, but when you drive i have no choice but to breath in your exhaust walking into work. extreme, i know, but still same point.

C. Healthcare providers should not be deamonized because they engage in practices they know are unhealthy. After all they are human too. Comparing commercial meats/vegies to smoking is comparing apples to oranges. Smoking is a choice whereas eating is not. I could go on and on about the excuses I hear for people not exercising and debunk darn near every one of them.

no you can compare, its your choice on what you eat. my point here was, to those that say as health care workers we should practice what we preach and dont understand how we can tell the patient they should not smoke then go have a smoke. so i say, we preach good eating habbits then eat proccessed foods. if you have not noticed over wieght people have just as many health issues as smokers. so some think its ok to preach good eating habbits and go to some fast food place for lunch. why ridicule smokers about teaching not to smoke when they then go out to have a smoke, its hypocritical.

i am glad you think smokers should not be deamonized, that shows you do have respect for everyones rights. i do think smoking should be illegal, even though i am a smoker. but no need to look down on smokers or disrespect them because they do smoke. smoking is something that is perfectly legal and i have a right to smoke, that right should be respected as all rights should be.

[Demonsthenes]

People who smoke are much more likely to have psychiatric problems including anxiety disorders. So, although I agree that nurses and doctors should be allowed to smoke as it is their bodies. Smoking is one indicator of emotional and psychiatric instability although, of course, it is neither a requisite for the same nor does non-smoking necessarily indicate emotional stability.:uhoh21: