Environmental Health Officers are working with Barts Health Trust to ensure that visitors and employees refrain from smoking outside the Royal London Hospital.
The council’s Consumer and Business Regulations Service is assisting the health trust in ensuring that patients, visitors and staff smoke or use electronic cigarettes away from the hospital’s estate.
The service’s smoke free officers will help patrol The Royal London Hospital site and encourage people to quit smoking.
Anyone spotted smoking will be asked to extinguish the cigarette and to leave the premises should they wish to continue smoking.
Tobacco addiction kills many hundreds of patients at the Royal London every year and contributes to hospital admissions for heart attacks, strokes, breathing problems and cancers.
Patients, families and friends are asked to support the smoke free initiative and help to create a healthier environment for all.
Reducing the number of people smoking outside hospitals allows for everyone to enjoy a cleaner environment and improved health.
The council also partners with Canary Wharf Group to help prevent people smoking in non-smoking parts of Canary Wharf and is keen to work with other organisations or business groups.
All people that work and live in Tower Hamlets are offered free access to the council’s Stop Smoking Services.
Cllr Amy Whitelock Gibbs, cabinet member for Health and Adult Services said: “It is great to see more organisations linking up with the council to create areas where smoking is not permitted. We are undertaking this work with the Royal London Hospital to assist as many people as possible to quit smoking and ensure the environment around the hospital is as healthy as possible.”
Dr Somen Banerjee, Director of Public Health at Tower Hamlets Council added: “Helping people to stop smoking and protecting people from the health harms of second hand smoke continues to be a local and national priority to improve public health.