Katie Bulmer-Cooke: Smokers should stick to designated areas

However, prior to getting through the doors, I’ve had to walk through cloud after cloud of cigarette smoke!

Despite the noticeably large no-smoking signs, many people, including visitors and patients, continue to surround the entrance with a smoke-filled haze.

As a non-smoker, I naturally struggle to understand why people choose to smoke in the first place, but ultimately I accept and respect that everyone makes their own lifestyle choices.

With that being said, inhaling other people’s second-hand smoke is not something I wish to take part in, and like those who choose to smoke, non-smokers should also have the choice not to breathe in cigarette smoke.

Having to walk through it removes that choice, and I would ask anyone who smokes and who is able to move further away from the doors to please do so.

I’m not passing judgement on the decisions of individuals who choose to smoke, I’m simply questioning why people feel that it is OK to be inconsiderate when choosing their smoking location.

There are designated areas for smoking, yet there are still people choosing to blow it right into your face outside the doors as you pass them.

The Cancer Research UK website claims that smoking on the whole is less prevalent, which is great, perhaps the next big drive should be on smoking consideration.

The days of having to breathe in second-hand smoke indoors ended when the UK smoking ban was introduced in 2007, and so many places, including the hospital, have created designated areas and shelters for those who smoke, away from those who choose not to.

I feel this is important as the Cancer Research UK website cites cigarette smoking as being associated with an increased risk in the incidence of many cancers, and those who choose to not smoke themselves should not be put in the same position as those who do.

Recent stats revealed that across England, about one in 12 smokers quit in 2016 and the percentage of people in England aged over 18 who were smokers has also seen a steady decline, which is extremely positive.

But there is certainly work to be done to ensure that when smoking does take place, it is done so more considerately towards those who choose not to.

No one likes to visit the hospital, but if you do, hopefully next time it won’t be via a cloud of smoke.