No smoking not enforced?

Photo: Randy Millis

Patients can regularly be seen lighting up around Kelowna General Hospital, and that has one man fuming.

Randy Millis is upset at the lack of enforcement of the hospital's no-smoking areas.

Millis attended the KGH eye clinic this week and saw a group of smokers puffing away near a no-smoking sign.

When he pointed out the sign, he says one woman simply told him she was a patient.

Millis inquired at the reception desk about the issue, and was told they can't do anything about it.

Unhappy with the answer, he called hospital security and asked them about the smokers. He says security told him they “can't actually enforce anything.”

Interior Health says all its properties are smoke free, but its enforcement approach “has always been focused on education and smoking cessation.”

Spokesperson Tara Gostelow says IH provides patients with nicotine patches and gum, but asks them to smoke off property, if they need to.

“We know the harmful effects second-hand smoke has on our patients, staff and visitors,” Gostelow said in a statement. “If an individual persists in smoking or vaping on IH property, administration may request consultation with a tobacco enforcement officer, who would assess the need for enforcement action.”

Despite this, Millis is unimpressed.

“So much for 'smoke free,'” he said.