Healthcare workers could be banned from smoking under new guidelines

Healthcare workers should not be allowed to smoke during work hours or when recognisable as an employee, according to new guidelines.

Other measures suggested by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (Nice) include healthcare sites, schools and colleges banning smoking anywhere in their grounds and employers allowing workers to access stop smoking support services during working hours without loss of pay.

The health body has issued three new “quality standards” relating to smoking, alcohol and physical inactivity, which suggest specific actions to encourage healthy living and reduce their harm.

Almost 80,000 adults aged over 35 died from smoking-related illnesses in 2013 while there were estimated to be more than one million admissions related to alcohol, according to Nice.

It also said that if people were more physically active, it is estimated that 37,000 deaths could be prevented each year.

Offering advice to adults and parents or carers of children about the benefits of exercise at set points, and ensuring that schools and colleges feature alcohol education in the curriculum are also suggested.

Professor Gillian Leng, deputy chief executive and director of health and social care at Nice, said: “In England smoking, excessive drinking and physical inactivity cause too many deaths and too much disease. They cost taxpayers, through the NHS, over £7 billion every year.

“There are areas where we can make improvements. We can help the NHS and local authorities to take action in their local area and educate younger people so that healthy choices become a life-long habit.

“These new quality standards include interventions to help people of all ages so we can continue to improve the health of the nation.”

Dr Peter Carter, chief executive and general secretary of the Royal College of Nursing, said: “Preventable conditions are one of the biggest causes of strain on the health service, and more importantly cause untold personal tragedies every day. Is absolutely right that Nice redoubles efforts to reduce harm from alcohol, smoking and physical inactivity.

“Health care professionals will be pleased to see a focus on promoting healthy behaviour from an early age, as they know that so much damage can be avoided with better education. Nurses working in schools and the community can play a vital role in this preventative work.

“Health care staff can lead by example in this area, but only if employers focus on providing support and incentives for them to quit smoking.”

Simon Clark, director of the smokers’ group Forest, said stopping health workers from smoking at work was “immoral”.

He said: “Health workers should be judged on their ability to do their job, not on some politically correct picture of the perfect person.

“Health workers shouldn’t have to be role models. What happens if they’re overweight? Will they be forced to lose weight in order to keep their jobs?

“Nice should butt out and leave health workers to get on with their jobs without harassment or discrimination.”

Copyright (c) Press Association Ltd. 2014, All Rights Reserved. Picture (c) Jonathan Brady/PA Wire.