Smoking Banned in Philadelphia`s City-Funded Treatment Programs

As the new year began, all 80 Philadelphia inpatient addiction treatment programs that receive city funding went tobacco-free. No patients or staff members will be allowed to smoke at the centers, with the move seen as enhancing patients' progress in recovery from substance addictions.

This decision comes after a ban on smoking in city-funded mental health facilities that was imposed in 2016, the Philadelphia Inquirer reported. According to city health officials, tobacco use kills more Philadelphians than other public health crises such as drug overdoses and gun violence.

The city-funded Penn Presbyterian Medical Center already went smoke-free last April, and center behavioral health director Julie Dees reported that any concerns about losing patients as a result of the policy have proven unfounded.

“Our census has been holding steady—we're more consistently full this year than last,” Dees told the newspaper. Any hesitancy on the part of patients over not being allowed to smoke has generally been overcome by an effort to train facility staff in how to assist patients in quitting smoking.