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JayKittyGOLD Member Mission: Ignition 534 posts Location: Central New Jersey, USA
Posted: So the problem I'm faced with is finding cigarettes.... I work on a locked psych unit that has banned smoking. Now for anyone who has ever seen a movie about a psych unit, you're gunna see each and every one of them chain smoking. For whatever reason the hospital banned smoking and going out for a smoke break is out of the question for patients. The result is that the patients find ways to smoke anyway, and when caught have always smoked their last cigarette using their last match they just flushed down the toilet. After tearing the room apart I can't find anything, I need help from the devious minds at HoP to help me figure out where the cigarettes are hidden. At worst, the lighters, because fire and mentally unstable people are awful combinations! But we already knew that Any advice would be helpful.
a) *nods* you "should", but usually you don't and if you don't like it, don't get inside. most of the time you wouldn't even know of asbestos or (rat) poison to start with.
still but I fink sat we have little right to force people to treat their bodies well. sey should have smokers-sections... as far as it goes wif sem lighters or matches - I agree sey should be taken away (but sey wouldn't need to hide sem in seir cells, if sere'd be smoker's sections (with complimentary lighters))
Yeah, I was talking about cigarettes... Before the hospital site was made smoke free it had rules like no smoking within 10m of doors or 5m from windows, but since no one respected those rules, I guess they ramped them up.
And I don't want to enter an arguement about our right to force people to treat their bodies well, but if people are entering a hospital wanting to get 'well' then they can bloody well not engage in health-destructive behaviour while they're here.
And ON topic for a change... I just remembered, our patients used to BURY their cigarettes because the outside areas were the only ones that weren't patrolled...
Posted: *is confused whether ppl *choose* to enter a closed psych hospital*
prohibition has never worked
the best smiles are the ones you lead to
JayKittyGOLD Member Mission: Ignition 534 posts Location: Central New Jersey, USA
Posted: There are people that do both. They know that when entering a psych hospital that if they don't their depression or addiction or other mental problems will become a problem. They have thoughts of hurting themselves mostly, sometimes others. They may have auditory hallucinations and know that if they do not get help they will act on them. They choose to get help. Other people are a down right danger to themsleves or others and deny it. The state can commin that person to treatment against their will. Its a big leagal thing. But out of the 27 patients on my unit, we have a max of 3 commited, the others are all there because they want to be. Sometimes the crisis ER workers use some tricks to make them sign in voluntarily, but its rare and the patients get pissed and sign themselves out. But that's another story.
Posted: umm, those patients are there for treatment, to help them not to pose a threat to others and themselves - of course that has to include withdrawal from nicotine, sorry for being little slow.
Yet is that merely for health issues (as to protect others from second hand and them from the hazards of smoking), or because they like to keep the area clean (you got to paint a hallway that is smoked much more often) and fresh - rally out of concern for the health of the patients or just the general "anti smoking campaign"?
I mean you said the reason was claimed that they hide lighters and matches and that would pose a threat to the hospital. In which case I would personally rather look for a compromise (outside smokers section with lighters and matches provided). Personally I found that prohibition just doesn't work - it creates a game between you (as the enforcer) and them - and they will come up with new stuff and you are wasting your precious time and energy policing them.
Deprivation just works in consent (if that is for health issues).
Posted: I think Perth specifically said it was for second hand health reasons, for visitors and workers enjoyment and to set a good "health" example...
I kinda take a more forceful attitude to it all... i.e. if you're coming in to get fingers/toes amputated because you have diabetes and you smoke and your end arteries are shot, then yes, I would like to be able to offer treatment on the condition that you stopped smoking... Like lung transplants. They don't give lung transplants to smokers. I would like to with-hold Pancreas transplants to people who eat a lot of sugary food etc
The other side is the reaction that smoking has on your liver enzymes, the same ones that breakdown and help the body excrete medications... a LOT of psych meds.
So if someone is yo-yoing their smoking, then this can cause an f-load of medication problems (this is what my research year was about)... So in this way the smoking ban can be bad and good... if someone smokes the same amount everyday then has to stop for hospital, it can screw with drug concentrations... but then again, most of the psych patients who were included in our survey actually change their amounts of smoking when they are getting "ill". i.e. manic stages tend to use less cigarettes because they're too busy saving the world while depressive states , people witt in the couch and cigarette usage can double, triple etc.
It was really scary studying this ... we had how many cigarettes do you smoke usually, in the week prior to admission, on the day of admission, during your stay etc.
and some people went from a pack a day to FOUR packets a day before admission...
Posted: Sorry to take this thread off and apprearing threadjacking - but unless patients are undersinging (and understanding) that admission to the hospital will get them also into a treatment of their nicotine addiction, I feel it's not right to limit them on this account.
I do understand your position, Nat - and I'm not far from agreeing with you. Only I feel that we - as firedancers - have little to point our fingers at (as on "the others") and that medical usually is to give help "now", regardless of history or future fate of the patient.
I feel also that it's again too easy to only beat on the victims (addicts) rather than on the pushers (tobacco industry) - but that's it for me now right here, before I'm completely guilty as charged
Posted: Everyone is informed of the changes to the hospital system and is offered nicotine replacemnt in the form of patches/gum etc.
I disagree that because we fire dance that our opinions are not as valid as the next persons. Smoking is something that has health consequences for the smoker and those around him and for the wider community due to the impact on the health system. I believe as such, we are all allow to comment.
I totally agree with a fire-dancing ban in hospitals!
And I also disagree with the statement that medicos are there to help. Medicos are there to practice medicine. and to allocate resources, and to do what they think is best for the patient and the health of the community.
Y/our opinion is as valid as everybody else's on the planet. I never doubted that.
And please, from now on consider putting up a sign "watching our show might be hazardous to your health and result in cancer, besides it is contributing to global warming and has a negative impact on the environment"
Ah, hiding cigarettes: have "pens" been mentioned already?
the best smiles are the ones you lead to
JayKittyGOLD Member Mission: Ignition 534 posts Location: Central New Jersey, USA
Posted: Back on my thread! Just because we are fire dancers does not mean we cannot also have other identities in society. When I am at my house burning, I'm a fire dancer, while I am at work I have to stop being a mellow fire dancer who goes with the flow and do my job the best way I can. Rouge Dragon has a thread about working for the system. I don't always agree with this system, but this is the system I choose to be in. When the hospital went smoke free it offered help to employees who wanted it to quit smoking. When the patients come onto the unit they sign a saftey paper saying they will not smoke and then the patch and/or gum is provided, we don't make them go cold turkey. Smoking does have an effect on medication, its the same reason that we only have decaf coffee as well. My heart goes out to them for that, lol. But caffeine is a diuretic and if someone is on the psych ward to get their medication adjusted it will also mess with their levels.
Don't mind me, just passing through.
JayKittyGOLD Member Mission: Ignition 534 posts Location: Central New Jersey, USA
Posted: And I think sharpies were mentioned, but pens can totally be used to hide things, good call.
Posted: Originally Posted By: FireTom"to help" as in "to aid" - that's it.
Y/our opinion is as valid as everybody else's on the planet. I never doubted that.
And please, from now on consider putting up a sign "watching our show might be hazardous to your health and result in cancer, besides it is contributing to global warming and has a negative impact on the environment"
Speaking of.. did we ever come to a consensus about planting trees to make ourselves carbon neutral? Was there an amount that people agreed on?
What kind of barrier would be needed to sheild the audience from toxic smoke? Hmmm...
JayKittyGOLD Member Mission: Ignition 534 posts Location: Central New Jersey, USA
Posted: Planting trees is a good idea anyway, do we need a reason to do it? Ventilation maybe? should be enough to keep most of the fumes from settling over your viewers.
Posted: Originally Posted By: natasqi Speaking of.. did we ever come to a consensus about planting trees to make ourselves carbon neutral? Was there an amount that people agreed on?
What kind of barrier would be needed to sheild the audience from toxic smoke? Hmmm...
now that is straight ON topic
the best smiles are the ones you lead to
UCOFSILVER Member 15,417 posts Location: South Wales
Posted: A wall made of lead.
5 metres thick and 20 metres high.
You stand one side, the audience the other, and you describe what you are doing.
That should do the job.
JayKittyGOLD Member Mission: Ignition 534 posts Location: Central New Jersey, USA
Posted: Yeah! You could totally hide cigarettes in there too lol. Life is full of risks, I think people love seeing fire shows because they love the danger, just not really actually happening to them. But they are around danger and that works just fine.