CAMH goes smoke free on July 27 2010

CAMH goes smoke free on its three principal Toronto sites (1001 Queen Street West, 250 College Street and 33 Russell Street) as of Tuesday, July 27th, 2010.

Smoking is not permitted anywhere on CAMH’s three main campuses, except in the designated areas on each property (see the maps on this page).

Below are answers to some questions related to this revised smoking policy.

Why is CAMH going smoke free?

This decision is primarily motivated by health and safety – CAMH is obligated to provide a safe, hazard-free treatment setting and workplace for our clients, staff, volunteers and visitors.

In 2009 the primary cause of death in mental health and addictions populations was tobacco-related medical illness … and these people’s lives are substantially shorter than the general public in great part owing to tobacco use.

Research supports the decision to do this - smoke free environments are considered most effective in preventing harmful exposure to harm second hand smoke.

Also, CAMH is an addiction and mental health treatment facility and smoking is a trigger for clients and staff who are trying to quit.

So are you telling clients and staff that they have to quit smoking?

No. There’s an important distinction between going smoke-free and enforced cessation; CAMH is not mandating that people quit smoking.

We are saying that smoking is no longer permitted on CAMH’s three principal sites (Queen Street, College Street and Russell Street), except in designated areas.

Why are you providing designated areas?

CAMH consulted widely with clients, families, staff, and our neighbours among others. While the response to our decision to go smoke-free was overwhelmingly supportive, we also committed to listening to these groups and incorporating their feedback into our plans. This measure represents the best balance between moving forward in the name of health and safety and respecting the concerns of clients/families, staff and our neighbours.

Queen Street Site

College/Russell Street Sites

Isn’t this unfair to patients/clients or others who smoke?

CAMH is Canada’s largest addiction and mental health facility, so we certainly appreciate the difficulty of chronic tobacco use.

“I was a smoker myself, so I’m not without empathy at all for the difficulty caused by addiction to tobacco,” says Rohan Ganguli, CAMH’s Executive Vice President, Clinical Programs, who’s overseeing implementation of the new policy.

“We recognize that it’s a difficult issue. But society’s moving forward on this; and the reality is that tobacco and its side effects are among the factors most likely to threaten our clients’ health in the long term,” he adds.

As an addiction treatment facility, CAMH is committed to providing a therapeutic, non-triggering environment for clients and staff who are trying to deal with various stages of tobacco addiction.

We are also committed to providing supports to clients and staff who want to reduce or stop smoking.

You can contact us with comments, questions or concerns at any time.