Windsor Regional Hospital is getting ready to implement a complete ban smoking on its campuses but admits the result could annoy some of its neighbours.
Right now, the hospital is removing its remaining designated smoking areas, ahead of new rules that come into effect January 1. Under the Smoke-Free Ontario Act, even areas set up for smokers well away from the building will be banned.
The spot at the Met Campus is located beyond the parking lot but is still used by some staff, patients, and visitors.
Officials say they will work with the Windsor-Essex County Public Health Unit's Tobacco Enforcement Officer and in the new year, anyone caught sneaking a puff on the property could be fined any amount from $175 to $5,000.
"We anticipate that because those who choose to smoke can no longer do so on hospital property, smokers will move off campus on to the sidewalks of public roads. This means smokers may move closer proximity to houses in our neighbourhoods," says a release from Windsor Regional Hospital. "We appreciate that this might be a nuisance."
"At Met Campus, in particular, some people think Lens Ave. right in front of the campus is a public road. It's actually not," says spokesman Steve Erwin.
He says the hospital is offering staff and patients help to quit smoking too.
"It's difficult to quit at the best of times. It can be difficult when you're sick too," he says. "But we certainly have the tools and the expertise available, nicotine replacement products, for example, to help people get through those times."
Both the Met and the Ouellette Campuses are adjacent to residential homes.