Mater Dei becoming 'smoke free'

Charmaine Scicluna

Mar 29th 2011, 23:49

I totally agree with a smoke free hospital...I'm not going into what's in it for non-smoker or for smokers; but mind you....its ridiculous passing by the internal yard of our 'state of the art' hospital and all you see is people in uniforms and patients smoking...it looks more like the typical Maltese band club rather than anything else, let alone a hospital.

D.Pisani

Mar 29th 2011, 23:39

Haha, this is all so rediculous. Apparently no one of you knows the real situation in the hospital. There still are staff to this very day, that go smoking in the ward toilets, and the smoking alarm doesn't detect them, either coz its non existent, or coz its deactivated. I agree that there should be hidden smoking designated areas in the hospital, where smokers can smoke a cigarette peacefully. These areas should not include yards where non smoking staff might hang out in their break to relax, and definately should not include, the area outside the hospital's day care section. It's such a disturbing scene to see smoking nurses outside 'daycare'.
And i agree, that passive smoking is dangerous to one's health, or even more dangerous than direct smoking.
Although not related to the subject, i would like to point out that the staff canteen at mater dei is rediculous, there is no variety in food, it is never fresh, coffee is awful (u would prefer having a capuccino from a machine, rather then have it made by the waiters in the canteen, bleeive me) and service is really slow. hospital staff know what i am talking about.

G. Agius

Mar 29th 2011, 21:21

I think that Mater Dei (yeah i know it's a hospital bla bla should set example bla bla) becoming totally smoke free is utterly ridiculous. And for one main reason. People who work in Mater Dei (not to mention patients) who smoke, did not become smokers when they started working there, they did way before, probably even before knowing that they'll be working in a hospital. Now, for these smokers, life in a 12 hour shift (mostly the norm in MDH) without a cigarette will not be a good thing. Never mind the health aspect, they know it more than you do. You will get jittery nurses, nervous doctors, irritable MDH staff who are jittery, nervous and irritable just because they can't smoke a cigarette.

If I am a patient I'd definitely prefer a calm nurse or a serene(r) doctor who occasionally goes out and has a puff of the cancerous/deadly/smelly/insertfavouriteadjectivehere cigarette and returns calmly to his work than have a healthy and nicely scented doctor with the nerves of an antelope on the run from a lioness.

S.Azzopardi

Mar 29th 2011, 19:00

Mater Dei should get more beds and rooms if it wants to be in line with International Hospital practices.instead of worrying about smoking areas ! Last week my wife spent 2 nights on a chair (not even stretcher) in area 2 !

Paul Barrett

Mar 29th 2011, 15:54

The more people that give up smoking, the more difficult you make it for smokers to smoke, the less income goes to public coffers and the more tax the "none smokers" will have to fork out.

If smokers die earlier then the less pensions will have to be paid out thus leaving more in the kitty for none smokers.

The health bill raised by smokers (who by all accounts will anyway die earlier) is more than adequately covered by the heavy tax imposed on smokers.

People working in and visiting the hospital are fairly often under stress or grief. Smoking is believed to be a stress reliever - do we not already have enough conflicts at the hospital without imposing more pressure on those under stress.

Melvyn Mifsud LLD

Mar 29th 2011, 15:01

thumbs up.

Smoking is a habit and a bad one.

So go ahead.

Ex smokers recognise that smoking can be quitted.

Joe Farrugia

Mar 29th 2011, 14:57

I don't smoke and I don't like cigarette's smell. However there is no proper scientific evidence that second hand smoking is harmful. Everyone quotes a non-scientific article: http://www.surgeongeneral.gov/library/secondhandsmoke/

Jimmy Magro

Mar 29th 2011, 14:57

Amazing.
When I was SG of the LP it took me less than a few minutes to pass a set of regulations at the Executive to make CNL a non-smoking building, the first in Malta. This was 1995.
Smoking is bad for all.
I hope that smoking will not be carried out outside the main entrance as it is happening in many buildings, hotels, bars, restaurants, etc in Malta and in Europe. This practice builds a corridor of bad air and people have to suffer to enter such buildings.

mario pandolfino

Mar 29th 2011, 14:53

New york mayor is to introduce a Bylaw to ban smoking from Times Square and here in malta we still strugling to ban smoking from certain areas at Mater Dei Hospital.I appeal to Health Authorities to ban smoking in small cars at the presence of children under 16 years .

G Vella

Mar 29th 2011, 14:51

I am an ex-smoker for five months now, with no intention to re-start the habit, so these measure don't directly effect me.

I also agreed that smoking be prohibted in any place where there are non-smokers and be restricted to designated smoking areas or outdoors, but now please, let us stop kicking smokers in the teeth. Currently at Mater Dei, smokers can go out in three yards which have no use to anyone, and hence are not affecting anyone. Why do we have to deprive them of these to, and make them take a long walk out of the hospital to have a smoke. This is nonsense and completely overboard.

Only a smoker knows how hard it is to go without a cigarette when there is an urge for one, especially when one considers the length of time a visitor or out patient spends on hosptial premesis.

M.Demicoli

Mar 29th 2011, 14:28

Are you serious?? "gradually"?? "The process started three years ago"?? "setting up of a committee"

OMG, it has to be Malta! Why is a committee and a period of 3 years required when you just need to pass a set of rules....fix no smoking signs, setup smoke detectors and that's it! Who ever is caught smoking inside is asked to go outside or gets a fine, simple.

Come on we try to invent every possible way to waste time and public money!