Smoke-free Initiative
Dear Colleagues,
Today, on the 36th annual Great American Smokeout, Boston University Medical Campus, in partnership with Boston Medical Center and Boston Mayor Thomas M. Menino, the Boston Public Health Commission and nine other hospitals in the city, are announcing that we will become smoke-free as of Patriots Day, April 16, 2012.
Faculty, staff, contract workers, students, volunteers, patients and families, and visitors will be asked to refrain from smoking (i.e., cigarettes, cigars, pipes or other lighted smoking devices) on all property owned and/or leased by BUMC and BMC.
As health educators and providers, we see firsthand the devastating effects of tobacco – from cancer and heart disease to asthma and emphysema. Smoking slows the healing of wounds, increases infection rates after surgery and often causes poor birth outcomes.
By becoming a smoke-free campus we will play a key role in reducing the hazards of tobacco use and exposure, while modeling healthy behavior, sending a clear message that good health is important, and providing a smoke free environment is the right thing to do.
This policy may be difficult for smokers. We will not force anyone to stop smoking. We simply ask everyone to please refrain from smoking on campus for their own health, the health of our colleagues and students, and, of course, for our patients.
Thank you for your cooperation.
Karen Antman, MD
Provost, Boston University Medical Campus
Dean, Boston University School of Medicine
