OSF St. Joseph Medical Center became an entirely smoke-free campus on Thursday, November 16, 2006, the day of The Great American Smoke-out.

This policy means that patients, visitors, volunteers, employees, and medical staff are not able to smoke anywhere (inside or outside) on any OSF St. Joseph Medical Center owned or leased property.

OSF St. Joseph Medical Center joins a growing number of hospitals and healthcare facilities throughout the country in creating smoke-free campuses to eliminate the dangers of secondhand smoke.

On November 16, employees were given stress balls, hard candy, and gum to help them kick-off or continue a smoke-free lifestyle.

“I think it went very well,” says Sheri Gatto, director of the Center for Healthy Lifestyles and co-chair of the Smoke-Free Initiative Committee along with medical director Paul Pedersen, MD. “Employee response has been positive.”

Volunteer Services director Jennifer Sedbrook said the change in policy has not been an issue with visitors. “Most visitors who smoke are simply waiting to do so until they leave campus,” she says. “Our volunteers have been very supportive.”

According to the American Cancer Society, secondhand smoke contains more than 4,000 chemical compounds. At least 60 of these are known or suspected to cause cancer. Each year in the United States, secondhand smoke is responsible for:
n an estimated 35,000 to 40,000 deaths from heart disease in people who are not current smokers;
n about 3,000 lung cancer deaths in non-smoking adults;
n other respiratory problems in non-smokers, including coughing, phlegm, chest discomfort, and reduced lung function;
n 150,000 to 300,000 lower respiratory tract infections (such as pneumonia and bronchitis) in children younger than 18 months of age, which result in 7,500 to 15,000 hospitalizations;
n an increase in the number and severity of asthma attacks in about 200,000 to 1 million asthmatic children;
n increases in the risk of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS) and middle ear infections in young children;
n and low birth weight in babies whose mothers are exposed to secondhand smoke.