Tobacco.org

Five hospitals to become tobacco-free workplaces in Jan. 2011 

Surgical technician Carole Smith, 45, has smoked for 20 years. When she started working at East Tennessee Children's Hospital three months ago, she already wanted to quit the cigarettes.

But a new policy leaves her no choice - at least, during the workday. On Wednesday morning, Children's Hospital and all other Knoxville-area hospital systems - Covenant Health, Mercy Health Partners, University of Tennessee Medical Center and Maryville's Blount Memorial Hospital - united to announce that their facilities will be "smoke-free workplaces" by Jan. 1, 2011.

Right now, that means only that employees won't be allowed to use tobacco products at the hospitals or their affiliates. Patients and visitors will still have the right to smoke in designated smoking areas. But administrators acknowledge the employee policy, which all could agree on, is "the first step" toward completely "smoke-free" campuses; individual hospitals will choose their own timetables to take the initiative further.

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