Nursing paraphenalia

Items from a nursing students lab kit.

As a student entering the health care profession, I can understand the heated debate regarding the ban. We are taught, as nursing students to follow the principles of harm reduction. Therefore, if a patient is finding that nicotine helps them cope with the cravings for harder substances and prevents a relapse of use, the health care professional weights the pros of their smoking against the cons.

I completed a short rotation in a mental health facility dealing with patients with substance dependence, and smoking was permitted outside on the hospital grounds in designated areas. This seemed to work for both patients and staff.