ST LOUIS, MO – June 1, 2006 – Following the lead of SSM Health Care, which banned tobacco products inside and out of its facilities in 2004, Missouri hospitals announced yesterday that they will also go smoke free by September.

Missouri hospitals have prohibited smoking inside their facilities for more than 10 years. The new regulation, which closely mirrors SSMHC’s policy, also prohibits it on the outside, except in very limited areas.

Dr. Anthony Scalzo, medical director of the Missouri Regional Poison Control Center at SSM Cardinal Glennon Children’s Medical Center, lost both his father and 35-year-old brother-in-law to smoking-related illnesses. He recalls treating a four-month-old who had symptoms of carbon monoxide poisoning, which was traced back to the fact that both parents smoked.

“We have to be sensitive to the parents at our hospital who are often dealing with very sick kids, but we believe that in the long run, prohibiting smoking on our campus is the best thing for our patients,” he said. One solution implemented at SSM Cardinal Glennon: Giving parents scrubs to put on while they go outside to smoke, so that they won’t bring the smell and residue back into the hospital on their clothing.

Dr. Kevin T. Johnson, a pulmonary physician and vice president of medical affairs at SSM DePaul Health Center said hospital staff have tried to be sensitive to the needs of smokers by offering snacks and massages and assisting them with getting prescription nicotine patches and gum.

In addition to helping patients, Johnson said the hospital's work force is healthier and has benefited from the ban.

Linda Walsh, a registered nurse at SSM St. Joseph Hospital of Kirkwood, said there was little resistance when the hospital banned smoking.

"Patients are receptive if they feel you understand what they are going through," said Walsh, who counsels patients who smoke and teaches smoking-cessation classes at the hospital.

Tricia Lawler, an employee from SSM DePaul who had been a smoker since the eighth grade, says that she was “pretty upset” two years ago when she heard that news that SSM DePaul would become tobacco free inside and out. But the ban prompted her to finally give up the habit. Lawler, a pack-a-day smoker before SSMHC’s ban, added that her health immediately improved and that she hasn’t had an asthma attack since she stopped smoking.

“Now I can’t stand the smell of smoke,” she said.