Hospital smoking bans, and not learning from the past

While Oxford University Hospitals NHS Trust realises that a smoking ban on NHS premises is unenforceable, Addenbrooke's Hospital in Cambridge decides that a ban thought to be unenforceable a few years ago is now enforceable. Whatever difficulties were found with enforcing the ban in 2008 now no longer apply. Incredibly, the ban won't apply till 1 January next year. That's a sure sign of a non-essential prohibition that is allegedly being introduced for health reasons – don't worry about enforcing it for six months.

Meanwhile in Grampian the same mistake is about to be made. Again it's a case of revisiting a policy that has been abandoned in the past.

Back and forward, to and fro. When will those who run the Trusts realise that the only way to get rid of the doorway smoking problem is to campaign for the return of comfortable indoor smoking rooms that people will be happy to use.