Brooke Army Medical Center at Fort Sam Houston marked a
tobacco-free milestone with a sledgehammer-wielding butt-can smash and removal
of the last standing smoke shack June 1.
“We are proud to say that, as of today, BAMC is tobacco
free,” said BAMC Command Sgt. Maj. Albert Crews.
“It’s a tremendous thing we are doing here,” said Debbie
Bray, RN, CNS, pulmonary clinical nurse specialist and one of the butt-can
smashers.
BAMC began its tobacco-free journey on Feb. 1 when patients,
staff and visitors to BAMC were informed that they soon would no longer be able
light up, chew, or use any tobacco product – whether cigarettes, smokeless
tobacco, vaping devices, cigars or pipes – on the facility’s campus.
The medical campus includes all property owned, operated,
maintained or leased by BAMC, to include the hospital, outlying facilities on
Fort Sam Houston and parking lots.
While the policy was instantly in effect for service
members, civilian staff and patients were given until June 1.
“We understand tobacco is a hard habit to break,” added Col.
Gerald Dallmann, logistics division chief. “But we strongly
believe that the benefits far outweigh the challenge of quitting.”
As health risks have come to light, tobacco use has become
far less prevalent in society throughout the years, he noted. Smoking rates
among adults and teens are less than half what they were in 1964, according to
the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
Still, 42 million American adults and about 3 million middle
and high school students continue to smoke despite the evidence that links
smoking to diseases of nearly all organs of the body.
With the public’s health in mind, tobacco-free medical
facilities have become increasingly common throughout the nation, Crews said,
noting the majority of San Antonio’s hospitals already have joined this effort.
“We are proud to be tobacco free and promote a healthy
environment for our patients, staff and visitors,” Crews said. “As a system for
health, becoming tobacco free is the right thing to do and demonstrates our
commitment to health and wellness.”
To help staff comply with this policy, BAMC has expanded its
tobacco cessation support and services to beneficiaries and BAMC’s civil service
staff members.
To register for tobacco cessation services, call BAMC Health
Promotions at 916-7646/4626