By Bernie Ní Fhlatharta Smoking is to be banned in the grounds of Galway University Hospitals from Ash Wednesday. GUH is introducing a smoke free campus next week – and that means there will be no ‘smoking areas’ provided at all by the hospitals on either the UHG or Merlin Park Hospital grounds.

From Wednesday, it will no longer be possible to smoke anywhere on the hospital grounds including entrances, doorways, walkways, internal roads, bus shelters, car parks, cars, bicycle shelters and so on.

The introduction of this new policy is in line with GUH’s status as a Health Promoting Hospital, a Smoke-Free Hospital and its designation as one of the eight regional cancer centres in Ireland.

The policy will apply to all staff, patients, visitors, contractors and anyone who enters the hospital buildings or grounds and will ensure a healthier, safer and cleaner environment for all and better health outcomes for patients and staff.

“Smoking is the single biggest cause of ill-health and death in our society; it is the single biggest cause of cancer and chronic chest diseases and is a significant cause of cardiovascular disease and exacerbation of diabetes,” said Dr Jim Crowley, Consultant Cardiologist, GUH.

It is planned that all hospitals in the country will be smoke free campuses by 2015. At the moment Portiuncula Hospital in Ballinasloe is not part of this policy.

For more on this story, see the Galway City Tribune.