Ten Massachusetts hospitals, including some of the nation's leading hospitals, entered a citywide pact, committed to instituting smoke-free campuses. To coincide with the annual Great American Smokeout, the mayor of Boston last week launched a Tobacco-Free Hospital initiative, including the likes of Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Boston Medical Center, Brigham and Women's Hospital, and Massachusetts General Hospital, reports The Boston Globe. The initiative bans smoking on all hospital property, offers smoking aids to patients and employees, and encourages hospitals to divest investments from tobacco company stock.
Meanwhile, Santa Monica-UCLA Medical Center & Orthopaedic Hospital is banning smoking in- and outside of hospital areas, reports the Santa Monica Daily News, indicating that the smoke-free trend is catching on.