Medical Center Helps Kick the Habit

With the new year comes a new policy at Arrowhead Regional Medical Center: no tobacco use of any kind will be tolerated at the medical center. As of Jan. 2, ARMC has enforced a tobacco-free initiative that has been implemented throughout the hospital's entire campus, including parking lots, sidewalks and streets. The new policy prohibits tobacco use of any kind, including the use of e-cigarettes, and applies to employees, volunteers, students, patients, visitors, vendors, contractors and other visitors to the hospital. The new policy is an extension of the hospital's "commitment to creating a healthy environment," according to ARMC Director William T. Foley. "We are in the business of providing quality health care and have a special responsibility to take a leadership role on this major health issue. As health care professionals we are committed to setting a positive example in the community," Foley said. The tobacco-free policy goes into effect just two months after it was approved by San Bernardino County's Board of Supervisors in November. A task force was created to help the medical center plan and implement the new policy. According to the National Cancer Institute, approximately 443,000 deaths occur each year due to cigarette smoking, with 49,000 of those deaths due to exposure to secondhand smoke. The National Cancer Institute shares that smoking has been found to cause several types of cancer including throat, mouth, nasal cavity, esophagus, stomach, pancreas, kidney, bladder and cervical cancers, as well as acute myeloid lukemia. Data recovered by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention showed that as of 2011, the most current year for which data is available, 13.7 percent of adults ages 18 and over in California currently smoke cigarettes, ranking second in all 50 states for the lowest percentage of adult smokers. Adults who use smokeless tobacco methods in California was 1.4 percent, the lowest percentage of e-cigarette adult users in all 50 states. According to the CDC, smokers die an average of 10 years earlier than nonsmokers. California's non-smoking law, AB-13, passed in 1995, prohibits smoking in places of employment where there are six or more employees or there are not designated public smoking areas, with some exceptions. Additionally, ARMC hosts smoking cessation classes and other resources to help tobacco users kick the habit. The hospital's Quit Clinic can be reached at 909-580-6167. You may also visit ARMC's website at www.arrowheadmedcenter.org and click on the "Let's Clear the Air" link for more information.