Guidance for smokefree hospital trusts

The recent white paper, Choosing health: making healthy choices easier, announced that the NHS will be smokefree by the end of 2006. This guidance document provides the rationale for why the NHS should become smokefree, defines what is meant by smokefree and sets out the steps needed for NHS trusts to become smokefree. It is based on the learning from a survey of hospitals carried out by the HDA at the end of 2003, three detailed case studies and consultations with individuals who have been involved in implementing smokefree policies. The document should be read in conjunction with the HDA briefing paper, The case for a completely smokefree NHS in England. This briefing paper sets out the case for a completely smokefree policy across the NHS and counters objections from those who say it cannot be done.