Health & Social Care and Education are reminding Islanders that all of their sites are to become smoke-free from 1 October 2016.
This move to smokefree is part of the Guernsey and Alderney Tobacco Control Strategy 2015-2020. This initiative is recommended by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) who advise that 'healthcare settings do not allow smoking anywhere in their grounds and remove any areas previously designed for smoking'.
Support and advice is available free of charge through Quitline for service users, staff and visitors who wish to stop smoking in advance of 1 October. Nicotine replacement therapy is also available to manage nicotine withdrawal symptoms during working hours or admissions.
Dave Matthews, Prison Governor at Les Nicolles, who implemented a smokefree policy at the Prison on 1 January 2013 commented:
"Going smokefree is bound to cause concern for anyone using Health & Social Care or Education sites who currently smokes. However, I can tell you from our experience at the Prison that, on the whole, staff and prisoners reacted positively to the smokefree policy. We worked closely with Quitline services and we do allow e-cigarettes which helps those individuals who are struggling to give up or who choose not to."
Dr Stephen Bridgman, Medical Officer of Health, went on to say:
"The recent Guernsey and Alderney Lifestyle Survey showed that some 75% of smokers would like to give up. Creating smokefree environments supports smokers by removing the temptation of smoking from around them. Studies show that you are many times more likely to succeed in giving up smoking if you use a stop smoking service such as Quitline."
Alun Williams, Lifelong Learning Manager added:
"The move to smokefree Education sites and establishments will play a key role in enabling young people to grow up in a smokefree Guernsey. Initial findings of our Guernsey Young People's survey 2016 indicate that fewer young people are being subjected to smoking in cars or in their homes and it therefore makes sense that the message is reinforced in schools and education establishments."
Health & Social Care recognises that e-cigarettes have significantly helped to reduce tobacco use and the serious harm that it causes to smokers, those around them and wider society. They are also used almost exclusively by smokers and ex-smokers and are becoming the most popular stop smoking aid. The use of e-cigarettes will, therefore, be permitted on Health & Social Care sites in designated outdoor areas.
