We have, for obvious reasons, come a long way.Those Who Wait On The Lord - Friday Five in May.Mother's Day, Tulips and Sugar. “There was a time when cigarette companies gave free cartons of cigarettes to hospital wards,” Shaner said. Ronald Shaner, medical director of the Los Angeles County Department of Mental Health, recalls that smoking was perfectly acceptable in the 1970s and early ‘80s. Camarillo even had a cigarette lighter built into the wall, she said.ĭr. Longtime mental health practitioners say the tight control over tobacco today contrasts sharply with the psych wards of even two decades ago.īack then, patients chain-smoked in large dayrooms, said Hedda Markham, a psychologist who worked at Camarillo State Hospital before it closed. Others sat on a shaded picnic table and chatted. One man paced the courtyard, ignoring everyone as he took deep drags. “Lighter’s over here!” shouted another staff member, holding the flame as patients then lined up to get their smokes lighted. There, surrounded by 22-foot-high block walls, they stood single file in lines to be handed a cigarette by a staff member. On a recent day at Ventura’s hospital, two dozen patients headed to an outdoor courtyard as soon as the break was announced over a PA system. Some attention is being paid to the issue at medical schools around the nation. Other studies have come to similar conclusions, although scientists caution that more research is needed. A study conducted at Thomas Jefferson University in Philadelphia found that schizophrenics who smoke could pay attention and control impulses better than those who did not. Now there is some evidence that smoking could be a form of self-medication. Nearly 90% of them take up the habit, studies report. Studies estimate that nearly half of those with mental illness are smokers.ĭoctors have long noticed that schizophrenics, in particular, are attracted to smoking. Ohashi and others know they face an uphill battle. They can also take stress-reduction classes to find ways other than grabbing a cigarette to deal with anxiety. Patients will be offered counseling and nicotine patches when admitted, said operations manager Curtis Ohashi. Next month, though, Ventura County Medical Center will begin offering a voluntary smoking-cessation program for psychiatric patients. In Ventura County, officials agreed to back off from a ban for now, after mental health advocates protested. Once it was clear that’s the way it is, it was a relatively minor issue.” “But it did not raise significant complaints. “There were some patients glad to leave so they could resume their addictive behavior,” Ferguson said. Michael Ferguson, former director of that county’s mental health division. Humboldt County imposed a no-smoking rule several years ago with few problems, said Dr. We just felt this crisis time was the wrong time to intervene.”īut bans have apparently worked in other locations. “It was a hard decision, because smoking is harmful to your health. “If all they can talk about is they want a cigarette and why can’t they have a cigarette, they are not focusing on the problems that brought them into the hospital,” Graham said. That was true even when they were offered patches to relieve nicotine withdrawal, she said. The biggest problem, though, was that patients were so irritated by the ban that they could think of little else, she said. Many are admitted involuntarily and cannot leave for at least three days, she said.ĭenied cigarettes, some attempted to go AWOL and others became combative, she said. Julia Graham, supervisor of the inpatient unit at Napa, said staff members pushed for a resumption of smoking privileges after seeing the effect the ban had on patients. Helena Psychiatric Hospital in Napa County also imposed a ban, but changed direction after four years. Los Angeles County’s mental health department tried a smoking ban, but dropped it after patient advocates filed a discrimination lawsuit.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |