Wagga Base Hospital visitors horrified by cigarette litterers

On Tuesday morning dozens upon dozens of butts were found strewn around the hospital entrance, right next to several large no-smoking signs.

The campus was declared a smoke-free zone in 2007, and since then smoking has been banned within all the buildings and the surrounding grounds.

One mortified patient was Phil Brewer, 56, who said the sight of so many discarded cigarettes made him feel sick.

Mr Brewer said he had spent the morning watching people pick up the cigarettes from the ground, suck on them, and then toss them out again.

"We've been watching them pick the butts up and putting them straight in their mouths. It's disgusting, especially with COVID and all the diseases," Mr Brewer said.

"It's disgusting, it's terrible. I won't come back here, that's for sure."

Another hospital visitor was Lynne Hardie, 67, who said she too had seen people pick up discarded cigarettes and attempt to smoke them.

"I saw a bloke walk over there and pick a butt up and he had a full smoke," Ms Hardie said.

"There's empty coffee cups, empty water bottles, cigarettes."

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Deirdre Lemerle, who lives next to the hospital on Murray Street, said the littering had spread out to the adjacent neighbourhood.

Professor Lemerle said she regularly saw discarded cigarettes, takeaway containers, drink bottles, and even on a few occasions the odd syringe.

She said the problem had been particularly bad over the past 12 months during the hospital redevelopment, with more workers coming to the site throughout the construction phase.

"A lot of people park there and also a lot of people have a cigarette on the way home when they leave the hospital, and by the time they get here the butt is finished," Professor Lemerle said.

"There are so many people parking just in the neighbourhood around the hospital. People walk from wherever their cars are to the hospital and either dump stuff when they leave or when they arrive."

As of 2020 drivers who are caught tossing a lit cigarette will be penalised five demerit points, and during a total fire ban the penalty will double to up to 10 demerit points and a fine of up to $11,000.

Smoking near hospitals is against the rules laid out in the NSW Health Smoke Free Workplace policy, which forbids smoking in all buildings, vehicles, and property controlled by NSW Health.

A Murrumbidgee Local Health District spokeswoman said more signage will be installed as part of the external works being completed on the new Health Services Hub.

They said MLHD and Wagga City Council would make sure there are more cigarette butt bins on Docker Street and Yabtree to encourage people to go off site.

The spokeswoman said they were also encouraging people to quit smoking altogether.

"In preference to the serving of fines for noncompliance on health facility grounds, MLHD prefers to take an educative approach toward enforcing the smoke free policy in the first instance," the spokeswoman said.

"Assisting patients to deal with their smoking is an important part of their treatment. MLHD will support patients to quit smoking through Nicotine Replacement Therapy or counselling."

Community members can find out more information about the new outdoor smoking bans by visiting the NSW Health website at health.nsw.gov.au/tobacco/Pages/smokefree-legislation.aspx.

If you need assistance to quit smoking, contact the Quitline on 13 7848 (13 QUIT) or visit www.icanquit.com.au

Questions about tobacco control in NSW can be directed towards the NSW Tobacco Information Line on 1800 357 412.

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