Smoking policy in pediatric hospitals and wards
J. A. Jenista
Department of Pediatrics and Communicable Diseases, C.S. Mott Children's Hospital, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor.
The American Academy of Pediatrics has recommended that pediatricians take
the lead in banning cigarette smoking in all pediatric health care
facilities. This study investigated the use of "nonsmoking" policies and
their planned revisions, problems in enforcement, and any history of
challenges to restrictive or lenient policies. The surveys were mailed to
329 hospitals affiliated with pediatric training programs as the
institutions most likely to attempt to comply with the American Academy of
Pediatrics recommendations. Representatives from 199 (60%) of the programs
responded. The programs had a range of 12 to 350 pediatric beds in
children's hospitals (27%), pediatric wards (69%), or general hospitals
(4%). Only nine hospitals were "smoke-free," ie, having no designated
indoor area for smoking. Another 35 had "restrictive" policies allowing
smoking in only a single site or two preselected sites. Pediatric hospitals
or wards were no more likely to have smoke-free policies than general
hospitals. Existence of smoke-free or restrictive policies was unrelated to
any other factor examined. Smoke-free and restrictive policies were more
likely to be rigorously enforced but not more likely to engender formal
challenges. Although almost all policies had been recently or are being
revised, pediatric hospitals and wards remain remiss in controlling
childhood smoke exposure.
