Gadsden Regional Medical Center to Become Tobacco Free
10/5/2021
Gadsden Regional Medical Center has announced a plan to become permanently tobacco free on November 30, 2021.
“As a health care provider and the largest employer in our city, it is important that we follow our own health advice and create an optimally healthy environment by going tobacco free throughout our campus,” said Justin Bryant, CEO of Gadsden Regional Medical Center.
Effective November 30, 2021, the use of tobacco products will not be permitted anywhere on the campus of Gadsden Regional Medical Center. The tobacco-free policy applies to all areas within the hospital, all areas around the building, including the parking lots. It also extends to all private offices owned, leased and/or operated by Gadsden Regional Medical Center.
According to the Centers for Disease Control, cigarette smoking remains the leading cause of preventable disease, disability, and death in the United States, accounting for more than 480,000 deaths every year, or about 1 in 5 deaths. In 2019, nearly 14 of every 100 U.S. adults aged 18 years or older (14.0%) currently smoked cigarettes. Smokeless tobacco and other tobacco products are not a safe alternative.*
Tobacco-free campus means cigars, cigarettes, pipes or other smoking devices including vaporizing devices such as electronic cigarettes are not permitted while on any Gadsden Regional Medical Center campus. Also, the uses of chewing or dipping tobacco, snuff or any other products containing tobacco are prohibited.
By eliminating the use of tobacco on our property, Gadsden Regional Medical Center will demonstrate our commitment to support healthy behavior in our employees, patients, visitors, volunteers, physicians and the broader community.
“We want to eliminate, as much as possible, the chance of exposure to the proven health dangers of tobacco. We believe that one of the strongest statements we can make about how seriously we take our mission of providing a safe and patient-focused environment is to be completely tobacco free,” concluded Bryant.
To support these efforts, Gadsden Regional Medical Center has made available several options for employees who desire to quit tobacco, including help through our Employee Assistance Program.
There are resources available for anyone who wants to quit tobacco. The Alabama Tobacco Quitline is available via phone at 1-800 Quit Now (1-800-784-8669) or visit www.quitnowalabama.com to enroll in the program.
*Source: https://www.cdc.gov/tobacco/data_statistics/fact_sheets/adult_data/cig_smoking/index.htm
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