Archive for Friday, September 1, 2006
Lawrence hospital campus totally smoke free as of today
September 1, 2006
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It was called the "smoke hut" by some and the "butt hut" by others, but the little building outside the northwest corner of Lawrence Memorial Hospital is gone now.
For years, the hut was the gathering place for hospital employees taking a smoke break. Thursday it was hauled away. As of today, there is no more smoking at LMH. Period.
Smoking hasn't been allowed in the hospital building for several years, but now it is banned everywhere on hospital grounds, including sidewalks and parking lots. That goes for hospital employees, patients and visitors.
When Louise Thrift heard LMH was falling in line with many other Kansas and Missouri hospitals and banning smoking on its campus, she was mad.
"I felt like my rights were being taken away from me," said the 59-year-old supervisor of housekeeping at the hospital. "The U.S. has always been known as a free country."
But when Thrift started thinking about it, she decided it was time she put that anger aside and try to break a habit she'd started 48 years ago. She signed up for what is known as "cold laser therapy" treatment at a business in Kansas City, Mo. She has been cigarette-free for a week now.
"I feel so much better," Thrift said.
Lawrence Memorial Hospital hauled away a small building Thursday where people used to take smoke breaks. Starting today, the LMH campus will be entirely smoke free.
Other employees are taking advantage of resources and information available at LMH to cure their smoking habits. Many have gone through a one-hour class conducted by Dr. Charles Yockey about how to break free from nicotine, which some experts say is more addictive than cocaine or heroin.
"Eighty percent of smokers want to quit but only 5 percent of them can do it on their own," Yockey said. "I don't spend anytime talking about why you need to stop smoking. I talk the whole hour about how to stop smoking."
Among the keys to becoming smoke-free is to break habits of going to a certain place at a certain time where you have had a cigarette, Yockey said.
The smoking ban also extends to the grounds of LMH South and West, and the physician practices in Lawrence, Baldwin, Eudora and Tonganoxie.
On Thursday, LMH employees stood on the concrete slab where the smoke hut had been removed and took advantage of their last day to smoke on the job. One of them was Teresa Leonard, an LMH personal care assistant, who was ready to take the no smoking rule in stride.
"There's nothing you can really do about it," she said.
"Some people are going to have problems," Yockey predicted.
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1 September 2006
at 4:51 a.m.
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KS (Anonymous) says…
This was a business and health decision made by LMH and NOT the City of Lawrence. Their choice and good for them. See how it can work?
1 September 2006
at 5:23 a.m.
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pje2111 (Anonymous) says…
Ok, no smoking on the hospital property, but they do not own the street. You can not sit in your car parked on the street and smoke or walk down the sidewalk to smoke. If tobacco were illegal I could go along with it but it isn't.
1 September 2006
at 6:09 a.m.
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davisnin (Anonymous) says…
“80 percent say they want to quit”
They SAY so people will shut up and leave them alone about it.
In other news, marijuana legalized in all public places…
1 September 2006
at 9:15 a.m.
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c_doc77 (Anonymous) says…
I hate second-hand smoke, unless it's from a good cigar or a pipe. But cigarettes? Gross! But regardless, this is still America. To say that you can't even smoke outside seems a bit tyranical to me.
1 September 2006
at 9:26 a.m.
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misplacedcheesehead (Anonymous) says…
it's about the h@ll time!
I'm a non-smoking R.N. who used to work there. If I needed to notify a co-worker of something urgent, or crap, just had to walk past the “cancer hut” to get in to work, I had no choice but to walk past that damn thing! And yes, I know that the hut was not directly in front of the door, but it might as well have been. The stench of cigarette smoke gives me an instant headache and chest pain.
Tyrannical? It depends on how you look at it. Smokers absolutely have the right to pollute their own lungs, yellow their own teeth, and smell like a toilet. Their right must not be violated- as long as myself and my kids do not have to breath it along with them!!
1 September 2006
at 10:57 a.m.
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countrygirl (Anonymous) says…
I wish where I work would go totally smoke free. I get tired of walking through the haze of smoke just to get in the door. The butts all over the parking lot and sidewalk areas are real attractive too.
1 September 2006
at 12:34 p.m.
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laughingatallofu (Anonymous) says…
I recently heard about a guy who went to the emergency room for back pain. He smoked for umpteen years, a pack a day. It turns out that he has lung cancer, with metastases to the spine (hence the back pain).
Bummer.
1 September 2006
at 1:30 p.m.
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crazyks (Anonymous) says…
Oh, yes, I can see how a one hour class on how to stop smoking is going to be soooo successful.
Unless you have been a smoker, you have no idea how physically addictive it is. A one hour class isn't going to do it.
1 September 2006
at 1:35 p.m.
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tony88 (Anonymous) says…
“Oh, yes, I can see how a one hour class on how to stop smoking is going to be soooo successful.
Unless you have been a smoker, you have no idea how physically addictive it is. A one hour class isn't going to do it.”
It was easier than that for me. Control your own mind. It's really easy.
1 September 2006
at 1:42 p.m.
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Confrontation (Anonymous) says…
I've had several relatives and friends quit on their own, with no patches, classes, brainwashing, or anything else. Those who don't quit are the ones who still want to do it. Many of them do it for social reasons. Joining coworkers or bar-buddies for a smoke is social. I hate when my coworkers smoke. They end up being the only ones who get to take a break, while their rest of us cover for them too often. People can quit cold turkey, but they just don't want to “gain weight” or lose their excuse to socialize while they should be working.
1 September 2006
at 1:44 p.m.
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crazyks (Anonymous) says…
I really believe that all stop smoking classes should be taught by someone who has been there themselves and quit. At least then you know that someone else was able to do it, and it might give you a little more incentive.
Otherwise, you just think it's another non-smoker being clueless again.
Did you quit cold turkey the first time, tony? Or did it take multiple tries, as it does with most people?
I have quit before, but I didn't stick with it. That's the main problem. A lot of people quit, but according to statistics, the chances of you remaining a non-smoker for five years or more aren't good.
1 September 2006
at 2:07 p.m.
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Tychoman (Anonymous) says…
Yes! It's about time. It's so stupid that every time I was at LMH to visit I'd have to go past one or two smokers literally right up against the door.
1 September 2006
at 2:14 p.m.
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tony88 (Anonymous) says…
It took a few tries. But the first few, i didn't really try. The last time, i really didn't want to smoke anymore. And the more and more time i went without smoking, the more and more i didn't want to smoke again.
1 September 2006
at 4:10 p.m.
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davisnin (Anonymous) says…
I guess I better quit, so I'll never die.
1 September 2006
at 5:23 p.m.
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gphawk89 (Anonymous) says…
After decades of heavy smoking, my grandfather quit cold turkey… the day he was diagnosed with throat cancer. I'm proud as heck of him for doing so, but by then it was too late. I'd suspect that seeing what he went through in his last few months of life could convince a lot of folks to quit.