DHB defends mental health smoking ban

  • Breaking
  • 20/05/2013

The Waitemata District Health Board is defending its ban on smoking in its acute mental health units, saying it’s about "changing the culture".

A nurse and two patients are challenging the ban, in place since 2009, at the Auckland High Court. The challenge also covers restrictions in place at the intensive care units at Rodney, Waitakere and North Shore.

The patients' lawyer Richard Francois says the issue is a matter of "human dignity" and that it's a human right to smoke.

"They like to smoke and it's their choice when they want to quit," he said yesterday.

However, Waitemata DHB lawyer Jonathan Coates says it's up to the board to decide where patients and staff are allowed to smoke, under the Smoke Free Environments Act.

"It's one of their [WDHB] statutory responsibilities to take a lead on smoking issues," says Dr Coates.

He says all over the world mental health patients smoke more than other patients. A New Zealand study reported 33 percent of the country's tobacco is consumed by mental health patients, compared with 40 percent in Australia and nearly 50 percent in the US. 

 Dr Coates referred to a mental health clinic survey which suggested the majority of its patients wanted a smoke-free environment for their health, so they could save money and so they could afford to buy their families Christmas presents.

He also suggested there were "less incidences of violence after the implementation of a smoke-free environment", at the clinic.

However, Mr Francois yesterday said he has seen a number of cases where patients have become violent or aggressive as a result of not being able to smoke.

He also claims there are a lot of mental health patients refusing treatment because they don't like going into the hospitals due to the smoke-free environment.

He referred to one example from a coroner's inquest where a psychiatric patient told his mother, before taking his own life, that he did not want to go back to hospital because he could not smoke there.

Mr Francois is calling for the Waitemata DHB to provide incapacitated and seriously ill patients with a room where they can smoke freely.

The DHB will continue its argument for the ban this afternoon.

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source: newshub archive