Smoking ban begins at HMC

By COLIN M. STEWART

Tribune-Herald staff writer

East Hawaii’s public health facilities have gone tobacco free, and that’s got area anti-smoking activists breathing easy.

The region-wide ban went into effect on May 1, and applies on the grounds of all hospitals and clinics operated by Hawaii Health Systems Corp. in East Hawaii, as well as businesses in office spaces owned by HHSC.

“This is a huge thing,” said Sally Ancheta, East Hawaii coordinator for the Coalition for a Tobacco-Free Hawaii. “It used to be … people could smoke in certain areas … in the parking lots. Now, all of their campuses are tobacco-use free.”

The ban includes products besides cigarettes, such as cigars, pipes, chewing tobacco, and even electronic cigarettes, which deliver nicotine via water vapor, rather than smoke.

The change has been a long time coming, and builds on similar policies instituted earlier this year in facilities in West Hawaii and Maui, said Howard Ainsley, CEO of HHSC’s East Hawaii region.

“We’re honestly a little late coming to the dance on this,” he said. “A lot of hospitals across the country have already made their campuses smoking free. We did take notes from West Hawaii and Maui, which did their implementation already.”

Ultimately, he said, the decision was “the right thing to do.”

“All you have to do is look at the overall cost that smoking has on health care, and what smoking does to the population. We’re trying to decrease the cost of health care,” Ainsley said.

Ancheta explained that the policy is an important step to take for a health care provider, and should be applauded.

In addition to serving as a very public example for others to follow, such a move provides a healthier atmosphere for both patients and employees.

“There’s been so much information to come out on smoking. First of all, tobacco use has been shown to be the No. 1 cause of preventable disease. It causes heart disease, it causes lung disease. … And the carcinogens inside tobacco products delay healing. … We think it’s just excellent for a hospital to make sure that all the patients under their care are not able to go out and smoke.”

In addition to the damage people do to themselves, there’s also the dangers of secondhand smoke to be worried about, Ancheta said. As an example, she described bringing her 12-year-old son, Jordan, to the emergency room while he was experiencing an asthma attack.

“It’s not so much the employees as it was the patients. They stand by the entrances and smoke,” she said. “We had to walk through a cloud of smoke while he was having trouble breathing.”

Thirdhand smoke is also beginning to get more attention, she said.

“It’s the residue of the chemicals inside cigarettes. It can get on clothes, it’s that smell you smell in a smoker’s car, the oils can get on walls. That’s thirdhand smoke, and it can compromise people’s health,” Ancheta said.

Ainsley said that the new policy has so far been well received, all though there have been complaints.

“There’s a handful of people who still smoke, and I understand that,” he said. “But as a health care organization, it was necessary to do this.”

In order to help people deal with cravings, the hospital is offering smoking cessation classes, and physicians are willing ot work with their patients to overcome the need to smoking, including by providing nicotine replacement therapies.

But what about those patients who still insist on going outside to have a cigarette now and then?

“No can do,” Ainsley said. “We’re telling them they’re not allowed to smoke. … You can’t have one foot in the boat and one foot on the dock.”

On Friday, which is World No Tobacco Day, members of the Coalition for a Tobacco-Free Hawaii and others will gather at 7:30 a.m. along Waianuenue Avenue for a sign-waving event to voice their support for Hilo Medical Center and other East Hawaii facilities for taking a stand against smoking.

“We want to recognize their efforts, because wellness should include having a tobacco-free policy. We want to show our support,” Ancheta said.

Following the sign-waving, the group will hold a ceremony at 8 a.m. in Hilo Medical Center’s front lobby to present HHSC officials with an award, recognizing their “outstanding contribution to our island communities health and wellness by becoming a tobacco-free campus,” according to an event invitation.

HHSC’s new tobacco ban applies to the following facilities:

• Hilo Medical Center Campus, including: Acute Hospital, Extended Care Facility, Yukio Okutsu State Veterans Home, Veterans Affairs Clinic, River Cottage, and all parking lots;

• Hale Hoola Hamakua Campus, including: Hamakua Health Center, Cottages and North Hawaii Education and Research Center;

• and, Ka‘u Hospital and Rural Health Clinic.

Email Colin M. Stewart at cstewart@hawaiitribune-herald.com.