Now I’ve seen everything. Today the trust behind Nottingham Hospitals announced they’ve lifted their on-campus vaping ban.
Officials cited, get this, health benefits in allowing patients and employees to vape.
Dr Stephen Fowlie, Medical Director at Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust, said: “We have a duty to help our patients and staff make healthy life choices, and can’t ignore the potential benefits of electronic cigarettes as a nicotine replacement therapy. We’re now allowing e-cigarettes on our grounds to give our patients, staff and visitors more choice in how they quit smoking.”
(via West Bridgford Wire)
I’ve always been of the opinion that it’s way more difficult (if not impossible) to reverse an idiotic ban. After all, one only has to look at marijuana and how long it’s taken to unfurl that ban. In the US, Prohibition took a freaking constitutional amendment to undo.
Yet here we are. A hospital, of all places, realizes they made a mistake and reversed a bad decision.
As much as I would like to think this is the start of a worldwide trend where bans will start going away, I’m not going to hold my breath.
After all, this is just a glimmer of good news shortly after the FDA finally put the hammer down on vaping. And of course, the UK is still a part of the EU and therefore will succumb to the dictates of the TPD. Those actions aren’t likely to be reversed without a helluva fight.
So if you’re wondering what my point is, it’s the same thing I’ve been saying for ages: keep fighting the good fight. It’s way easier to block an action than to reverse it. What we’re seeing here is a unicorn. The FDA isn’t suddenly going to realize how dumb it’s been acting and call the whole thing off.
What do you think? Are we going to see more un-bannings, or is that wishful thinking?
