Nurses and smoking

Published

  1. Is it ok for nurses and doctors to smoke?

    • 280
      Yes, Its their body.
    • 192
      No, its not very professional.
    • 54
      Other, explain

462 members have participated

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?

Cathie,

like i said in my post. not saying you do. i actually agree with what you said. was just trying to get people to fucus on the issue of smoking on the facilities grounds. and to not focus on the individuals that do smoke. the know better and stuff came from another sorry to have included it. was not meant for you but everyone.

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Cathie,

like i said in my post. not saying you do. i actually agree with what you said. was just trying to get people to fucus on the issue of smoking on the facilities grounds. and to not focus on the individuals that do smoke. the know better and stuff came from another sorry to have included it. was not meant for you but everyone.

No worries....it's just that when folks quote one of my posts.....I assume they're directing their reply to me.

As I said, I don't think I have the right to harass anyone about their smoking (even if they were smoking in a nonsmoking place, I'd either tell someone in charge there..ie Security, or the like; or I'd politely point out the non smoking sign)....but I would hope that a healthcare professional wouldn't use a lack of a rule to justify something that might knowingly be causing medical difficulties for a patient. The perspective of "it's not their responsibility unless they're breaking a facility rule" doesn't quite cut it for me.

It's like wearing strong perfume in a hospital setting....in my opinion, healthcare professionals should know that some people have a physical reaction to strong scents...they should know that, whether the facility has a rule about it or not, some of their patients might have a reaction to a strong scent.

Just my .02

Peace,

Cathie

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Specializes in Happily semi-retired; excited for the whole whammy.

I voted other because I really didn't understand what was meant by the word okay. Is it okay legally? Yes, of course. Is it okay ethically? Yes. Is it okay if the smoking impacts a patient's standard of care or his/her coworkers (for example, by the nurse ducking out for an unscheduled cigarette break or coming to work smelling of smoke)? No, it isn't. Is it okay for one's health to smoke? Well, of course not, and we all know that, or at least I hope we do. Nurse or not, it is best not to start and wise to try and try again to quit if you're already hooked.

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Specializes in Ante-Intra-Postpartum, Post Gyne.

I do not think any one should smoke. However, it is their choice if they want to. I do not think it is very professional if they do. I work with a doctor who, if he suddenly disaprears you know he went of his cofee smoke break, but I never knew that before some one told me where he was. Many people that smoke stink nasty. I think as long as they can smoke and short of being seen, come back to work with now one the wiser its fine.

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Specializes in Geriatrics, LTC.

I haven't read all the posts on this, but I just had to throw my 2 cents in.....

I'm a smoker, and I do enjoy it, but do some of you really honestly believe that us smokers don't beat ourselves up daily over the decision to smoke or to do the very difficult thing of stopping? I know it's bad for me, and I spread that word to my residents, it doesn't make me a "hypocrite" or make "double standards". Drinking isn't good for you in excess...now tell me how many nurses go out after work and tie one on? We all do something that we tell our patients/residents not to. That is what makes us human. Ok how about this...how many nurses tell their patients to take their meds and the reason for doing so...and yet don't follow that advice themselves, same for visits to the doctor??? Ok I step down now...thanks for letting me put in my 2 cents. :)

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Specializes in Telemetry, OR, ICU.

Second hand smoke is the reason a nonsmoker has the right to harass someone smoking. :p

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Specializes in Geriatrics, LTC.
Second hand smoke is the reason a nonsmoker has the right to harass someone smoking. :p

I see your point, but I disaagree with something, a nonsmoker doesn't have the right to HARASS a smoker, but they do have the right to either move away from the smoker or to ask the smoker to put it out or to please move away. As a fairly new smoker I understand the not wanting to be around the smoke, I always ask the other person if they mind I smoke or I just wait. :)

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Specializes in Telemetry, OR, ICU.
i see your point, but i disaagree with something, a nonsmoker doesn't have the right to harass a smoker, but they do have the right to either move away from the smoker or to ask the smoker to put it out or to please move away. as a fairly new smoker i understand the not wanting to be around the smoke, i always ask the other person if they mind i smoke or i just wait. :)

secondhand smoke fact sheet

november 2004

secondhand smoke, also know as environmental tobacco smoke, is a mixture of the smoke given off by the burning end of a cigarette, pipe or cigar and the smoke exhaled from the lungs of smokers. it is involuntarily inhaled by nonsmokers, lingers in the air hours after cigarettes have been extinguished and can cause or exacerbates a wide range of adverse health effects, including cancer, respiratory infections, and asthma.[color=#154379]1

  • secondhand smoke has been classified by the environmental protection agency (epa) as a known cause of cancer in humans (group a carcinogen).[color=#154379]2
  • secondhand smoke causes approximately 3,000 lung cancer deaths and 35,000 heart disease deaths in adult nonsmokers in the united states each year.[color=#154379]3
  • a study found that nonsmokers exposed to environmental smoke were 25 percent more likely to have coronary heart diseases compared to nonsmokers not exposed to smoke.[color=#154379]4
  • nonsmokers exposed to secondhand smoke at work are at increased risk for adverse health effects. levels of ets in restaurants and bars were found to be 2 to 5 times higher than in residences with smokers and 2 to 6 times higher than in office workplaces.[color=#154379]5
  • since 1999, 70 percent of the u.s. workforce worked under a smoke-free policy, ranging from 83.9 percent in utah to 48.7 percent in nevada.[color=#154379]6 workplace productivity was increased and absenteeism was decreased among former smokers compared with current smokers.[color=#154379]7
  • secondhand smoke is especially harmful to young children. secondhand smoke is responsible for between 150,000 and 300,000 lower respiratory tract infections in infants and children under 18 months of age, resulting in between 7,500 and 15,000 hospitalizations each year, and causes 1,900 to 2,700 sudden infant death syndrome (sids) deaths in the united states annually.[color=#154379]8
  • secondhand smoke exposure may cause buildup of fluid in the middle ear, resulting in 700,000 to 1.6 million physician office visits per year. secondhand smoke can also aggravate symptoms in 200,000 to 1,000,000 children with asthma.[color=#154379]10
  • in the united states, 21 million, or 35 percent of, children live in homes where residents or visitors smoke in the home on a regular basis.[color=#154379]11 approximately 50-75 percent of children in the united states have detectable levels of cotinine, the breakdown product of nicotine in the blood.[color=#154379]12
  • new research indicates that secret research conducted by cigarette company philip morris in the 1980s showed that secondhand smoke was highly toxic, yet the company suppressed the finding during the next two decades.[color=#154379]13
  • for more information on secondhand smoke, please review the tobacco morbidity and mortality trend report as well as our lung disease data publication in the [color=#154379]data and statistics section of our website, or call the american lung association at 1-800-lung-usa (1-800-586-4872).

sources:

  1. california environmental protection agency. health effects of exposure to environmental tobacco smoke. september 1997.
  2. u.s. environmental protection agency. respiratory health effects of passive smoking: lung cancer and other disorders. december 1992.
  3. california environmental protection agency. health effects of exposure to environmental tobacco smoke. september 1997.
  4. he, j.; vupputuri, s.; allen, k.; et al. passive smoking and the risk of coronary heart disease-a meta-analysis of epidemiologic studies. new england journal of medicine 1999; 340: 920-6.
  5. u.s. department of health and human services. report on carcinogens, tenth edition 2002. national toxicology program.
  6. shopland, d. smoke-free workplace coverage. journal of occupational and environmental medicine. 2001; 43(8): 680-686.
  7. halpern, m.t.; shikiar, r.; rentz, a.m.; khan, z.m. impact of smoking status on workplace absenteeism and productivity. tobacco control 2001; 10: 233-238.
  8. california environmental protection agency. health effects of exposure to environmental tobacco smoke. september 1997.
  9. ibid.
  10. ibid.
  11. schuster, ma, franke t, pham cb. smoking patterns of household members and visitors in homes with children in united states. archives of pediatric adolescent medicine. vol. 156, 2002: 1094-1100.
  12. u.s. environmental protection agency. america's children and the environment: measures of contaminants, body burdens, and illnesses. second edition. february 2003
  13. diethelm pa, rielle jc, mckee m. the whole truth and nothing but the truth? the research philip morris did not want you to see. lancet. vol. 364 no. 9446, 2004

*racial and ethnic minority terminology reflects those terms used by the centers for disease control

source

harass: to annoy continually

i have every right to annoy continually you, or any other smoker that causes me to involuntarily invite carcinogens into my system!

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harass: to annoy continually

I have every right to annoy continually you, or any other smoker that causes me to involuntarily invite carcinogens into my system!

hey bro nice to see ya again. however i could not disagree with you more. read this http://www.lungusa.org/site/apps/s/content.asp?c=dvLUK9O0E&b=34706&ct=67093 pretty comparable right. and that was done in 96. there has been a big push to do another but lots of resistance and was suppost to come out this past december. 10 years now bet those numbers havw gone up can see it in the hospitals around my area. so you car drivers effect me, after all "In 1996, transportation sources were responsible for 47% of pollutant emissions" so by your rational "I have every right to annoy continually you, or any other driver that causes me to involuntarily invite carcinogens into my system!":rolleyes:

so i am guessing here, most everyone has the right annoy anyone just about anytime.

i say if its big issue for those in your town, state, ban it in public places period or get the hospital to ban it during work hours, like with alochol. if its not an issue and its allowed deal with it why annoy anyone? move to a area or hospital that does not allow it. lobby the right people to change if you want but dont infringe on their rigths, it is illegal to harass not smoke.

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Specializes in 5 yrs OR, ASU Pre-Op 2 yr. ER.
Second hand smoke is the reason a nonsmoker has the right to harass someone smoking. :p

Harrass, i don't think, however i DO get sick and tired of walking out of EVERY exit of the hospital and being greeted by a gagging fog of cig smoke. Thank GOD that's been put to a stop as of the 1st of this year.

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as george burns once said " if i gave up smoking cigars when my dr told me to, i never would of lived to see them bury him" (it was something like that). he smoked 15 cigars a day and were not just talking cigarollos but churchill size cigars. he lived till he was 100

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Specializes in Telemetry, OR, ICU.
as george burns once said " if i gave up smoking cigars when my dr told me to, i never would of lived to see them bury him" (it was something like that). he smoked 15 cigars a day and were not just talking cigarollos but churchill size cigars. he lived till he was 100

True, but I'd think George Burns [RIP] was certainly an exception. LOL, he probably was blessed with anti-carcinogen genes.

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