Two hospital chains in the Quad Cities are going smoke-free on Saturday. Berlinda Tyler Jamison, spokeswoman for Trinity Medical Center in Davenport, says cigarettes are hazardous and go against everything for which a hospital is supposed to stand.
Jamison says Trinity is a health system which is dedicated to health so it’s a contradiction to allow people to smoke on their properties and in their buildings when it’s known smoking is the leading preventable cause of disease and death. She says hospital employees who smoke are getting help.
They’re offering free tobacco cessation program and if that employee has a friend or relative who’s also a smoker who wants to quit, they can also attend free. Jamison says the hospital is making up “goody bags” filled with sugar-free gum and candy to help smokers get through cravings. The leaders of Genesis Medical Centers, with two hospitals in Davenport, are also banning smoking.