Smokefree Policy at Bradford District Care NHS Foundation Trust

We are committed to promoting health and wellbeing for our patients, staff, and visitors. Smoking is a leading cause of illness and premature death. Going smokefree helps:
• Reduce health risks.
• Create a safer environment for everyone.
• Meet National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) guidance, which advises all NHS sites to be smokefree.

Smoking is prohibited in all buildings and grounds used by the Trust.
• If you smoke on Trust grounds: Staff will ask you to stop.
• For patients admitted to hospital: Smoking materials (e.g., cigarettes, lighters) must be handed to staff for temporary storage or collected by a family member. Any new smoking materials brought onsite will also be removed.
• For visitors: Please do not bring cigarettes, tobacco, or lighters to the hospital or give them to patients.

We provide nicotine replacement therapy (NRT) like patches, lozenges, or vapes to help with cravings.
• NRT is available within 30 minutes of admission.
• Trained staff are on hand to support you in staying smokefree or quitting for good.

Please help by:
• Not smoking anywhere on Trust grounds.
• Avoiding bringing smoking materials to the hospital.

If you receive treatment at home or in a community setting, you must provide a smokefree environment for staff.
• Before visits: Avoid smoking indoors for at least one hour before staff arrive.
• During visits: Do not smoke while staff are present.

If conditions cannot be met, staff may reschedule your visit at a smokefree location.

How you can help:
• Keep at least one room in your home smokefree.
• Open windows and doors to improve ventilation if smoking has occurred.
• Ask others not to smoke indoors.

E-cigarettes can be a safer alternative to smoking. Research shows they pose only a fraction of the risks of tobacco. On Trust premises:
• E-cigarettes are allowed in designated areas (ask staff for details).
• You may use your own device (subject to a risk assessment) or borrow one from the Trust.
• We cannot supply e-cigarettes to anyone under 18.

• Smoking is the leading cause of preventable illness and death in England.
• Cigarette smoke contains over 5,000 toxic chemicals, 70 of which cause cancer.
• Smokers are at higher risk of heart disease, stroke, and cancer.
• Smoking reduces the effectiveness of some psychiatric medications.
• People with mental health conditions are more likely to smoke, contributing to reduced life expectancy.

Quitting smoking offers rapid and long-term benefits:
• 20 minutes: Blood pressure and heart rate return to normal.
• 8 hours: Nicotine and carbon monoxide levels drop.
• 1 day: Lungs begin clearing mucus and carbon monoxide.
• 2 days: Improved sense of taste and smell.
• 3–9 months: Lung function improves by 10%.
• 5 years: Stroke risk matches that of a non-smoker.
• 10 years: Risk of lung cancer falls to that of a non-smoker.

Quitting also improves mental health and can reduce medication needs.

Financial benefits of quitting

Smoking is expensive. For example, at £14.39 per pack:
• Smoking 7 packs a week costs £100.73.
• A year costs £4,835.04.