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Companion bill
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Prohibits smoking on the grounds of general hospitals and residential health care facilities
In Assembly Committee · Health · Sponsor Ellen C. Jaffee
Full text
The text isn't available here yet. Check nysenate.gov.
Sponsor's memo
BILL NUMBER:S7527
Title of bill
An act to amend the public health law, in relation to prohibiting smok- ing on hospital grounds and residential health care facilities
Purpose or general idea of bill
The purpose of this bill is to prohibit smoking on the campus grounds and within fifteen feet of the property lines of general hospitals, residential health care facilities and other health care facilities licensed by the state in which persons reside.
Summary of specific provisions
Section one of the bill amends public health law section 1399-0 to add a new paragraph b to subsection 2 of that section prohibiting smoking in outdoor areas of hospital grounds, and within fifteen feet of such grounds or entrance or exit of such facilities. This section also amends subsection 2 of such section to include paragraphs "a" and "b".
Section two of the bill sets forth the effective date.
Justification
The facts are clear, secondhand smoke kills. Nationwide, it has been linked to over 46,000 deaths annually from heart disease and 3,600 deaths from lung cancer in nonsmokers. Additionally, secondhand smoke is responsible for lung infections and ear infections in children, as well as exacerbation of childhood asthma and hospitalizations related to all of these maladies.
Health care facilities are the places we go to get treatment, heal and recover from serious health concerns. They should not be the place where our health concerns start or are worsened. No child leaving a hospital after suffering a life-threatening asthma attack should be forced to walk through a cloud of secondhand smoke, a known asthma trigger. Hospi- tals and other residential health care facilities are not only the plac- es where the most vulnerable among us must go to heal, but they are also the places where the example of smoke-free positive health practices should be conspicuous.
Smoking within these health care facilities is already prohibited under state law. The City of New York instituted a smoking ban within 15 feet of hospital grounds, entrances and exits in 2009. In addition to this, over 100 hospitals in New York State have already voluntarily instituted such smoking bans. This bill is necessary to extend the prohibition statewide, protecting those living, working and visiting in health care facilities from exposure to the life-threatening dangers of secondhand smoke.
Prior legislative history
This is a new bill.
Fiscal implications
None.
Effective date
This act shall take effect on the ninetieth day after it shall have become law.
Summaries, headlines and scores are AI-generated from the official bill text. How we score bills. Source: NYS Open Legislation.