Tobacco prevention in hospitals needs prolonged and sustained effort.

The smoking control, policy implemented at a Barcelona hospital over a 3-year period resulted in a reduction of smoking in the hospital and a raised awareness of the exemplary role health professionals can have. However, participation by health professionals in the project decreased over the 3-year period. Although reduced, the smoking rate in the hospital still is at a high level; this should trigger health professionals to further exploit their potential in smoking reduction efforts.