Smoking restrictions at Boston-area hospitals, 1990-1992. A serial survey.

Boston-area hospitals were initially surveyed in 1990 and again in 1992 regarding their policies on smoking. In 1990, all 40 facilities participating had policies restricting in-hospital smoking, 3 had banned smoking entirely, and only 1 hospital still permitted tobacco sales on its grounds. By December 1991, 18 of the hospitals had banned smoking, and no facility sold tobacco. As of February 1992, 29 had banned smoking, and 37 were offering ongoing smoking cessation programs to their employees. A new Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations standard requiring hospitals to be smoke-free by the end of 1993 seemed to have a strong effect on the implementation of smoking bans.