When I took on the role of Smokefree Lead at Hampshire Hospitals, I knew it would be a challenge. What I did not expect were some of the comments I’d receive along the way!

Some have made me laugh, some have made me pause, and some have spurred me on. A few highlights include:

  • “Why did you do that to yourself?”
  • “You’ll never do it, you’re mad.”
  • “I wish you luck, and you’re very brave, but I worry for you.”
  • “I think it’s great what you’re doing, but I just don’t think you’ll pull it off.”

I think those comments come from a place of honesty and spontaneity. Sometimes I find it daunting, but usually I find them motivating. Every time someone doubts whether we can truly make Hampshire Hospitals smokefree, it makes me more determined to prove that we can.

Why smokefree matters

This isn’t about being against people who smoke - far from it. Many of us know, love, or care for someone who smokes, and you may smoke yourself. What we are is anti-smoking on our hospital sites.

Hospitals are places of health, healing and recovery. Cigarette smoke has no place here: not for patients, service users and parents with newborns stepping outside for fresh air, not for families visiting loved ones and not for colleagues on their way into work.

That is why this isn’t about wagging fingers or saying, “you can’t smoke”. It is about bringing people with us. It’s about conversations, compassion and support…it’s about creating environments where healthier choices become the easier ones.

The complex world of vaping

Of course, the issues around smoking are not simple, and vaping is a perfect example.

The evidence on vaping is still evolving, and it is far from straightforward. Some people use vapes as a step towards quitting altogether - something which we promote in the Trust.  Others may use vaping as a replacement for smoking. And increasingly, we’re seeing concerns about younger people vaping who never smoked in the first place.

The bottom line is that this is about harm reduction: vaping is safer than smoking and vaping is currently the most effective tool to give up smoking.

That complexity is part of what makes this work so fascinating. I am learning something new every day. Sometimes it’s about the rise in nicotine pouches in primary schools, sometimes it’s about new tobacco products I had never even heard of before - Nic-cups, anyone? (Yes, they are real. Feel free to Google it.)

The tobacco industry is also evolving, and if we are going to protect our patients, visitors and staff, we need to stay curious, stay informed and be ready to adapt.

Starting the conversation

One of the most important parts of our smokefree journey is how we talk to people about smoking on our hospital sites. We know smoking is an addiction, and we, as a hospital, have a duty of care to treat that addiction for those who wish to be treated. Our aim is to protect patients, families and staff by keeping our hospitals clean and healthy spaces, while supporting anyone who smokes to manage their nicotine addiction while they’re with us or take steps towards quitting if they’re ready.

It is not easy to approach someone about their smoking, but it’s one of the most effective things we can do.

If I do approach a -person smoking, I always try to be warm and respectful. I usually say something like:
“Excuse me, can I ask you a favour? We are really trying to clean up our sites. Would you mind not smoking here? Please could you move off-site?” and then point them in the right direction.

If they are unsure or look like they can’t easily move, I might say instead:

“Excuse me, can I ask you a favour? We are really trying to clean up our sites. The next time you come to the hospital, please could you plan ahead to not smoke while you are here? Thank you so much…” And then step away and walk on. This approach is useful in that it is non-confrontational but it’s beginning to make the point that, as members of staff, we are trying to clean up our sites and that we will approach people who smoke on our sites.

The more of us who do this, the more normal it becomes. If more colleagues felt confident having those short, polite conversations, we could transform our sites. Instead of being known locally for patients and visitors smoking outside the front door, Hampshire Hospitals could be famous for being the place where we speak up: kindly, consistently and confidently, for smokefree spaces. Imagine that?

Where we go from here

Stoptober is a great reminder that quitting smoking is possible, and that support is out there. Every conversation we have, whether it is a colleague gently asking someone to move off-site, or a nurse signposting a patient to Smokefree Hampshire, makes a difference.

We are not enforcing rules; we are changing culture. And culture change takes time, patience, and persistence. It also takes humour and humanity - the kind that makes you smile when someone says, “you’ll never do it” and fuels you to keep going.

 

Clare Rowe Jones

Smokefree Lead

 

To find out more about our Smokefree journey, or to get support to start yours, visit: https://www.hampshirehospitals.nhs.uk/our-services/az-departments-and-specialties/we-are-smokefree.