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Hospital's 'smoke free' streets plan condemned by Forest
Thu 4th August, 2016
Forest has criticised plans to make the streets around Birmingham Children's Hospital a smoke free zone.
Smoking has been banned on the site since 2005. Now signs and security patrols will ask people not to light up in nearby roads.
Simon Clark, director of Forest, said:
"I can understand why they don't want people smoking close to the main entrance but restricting smoking in neighbouring streets is ridiculous.
"The trust is looking for a problem that doesn't exist. There's no evidence that smoking outside is harmful to anyone other than the smoker.
"When you walk past someone smoking in the street your exposure to tobacco smoke is minimal. You may not like the fleeting smell but that's no reason to ban it.
"Erecting signs and employing people to patrol the area to stop people smoking is an appalling waste of taxpayers' money.
"The NHS deserves better than to be run by faceless bureaucrats who waste their time and our money coming up with petty schemes like this."
The trust's plans are subject to a six-week consultation and Forest has urged supporters to make their views known.
Comments posted on the group's Facebook page include:
"This is a bullying, arrogant and ridiculous proposal."
"It is a disgrace that the hospital comes up with these petty ideas."
"Having a child in hospital is very stressful and upsetting. There needs to be a convenient and dignified place for people to smoke."
"I take it they will also be banning diesel vehicles from this area, including emergency vehicles?"
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