A communication and education guidance document is an important component of the successful implementation of the Smoke Free Policy. All staff, patients, clients, residents and visitors will have access to communication and education as appropriate to their individual needs.  Communication and education supports compliance to the policy and provides an intervention option for people who smoke.

• To provide an overview to staff, patients, clients, residents and the community of the types of communication and education that is available regarding the Ballarat Health Services Smokefree Policy;
• To ensure the provision of awareness and resources for people who smoke;
• To support clinical interventions being provided to patients, clients and residents who smoke;
• To prevent people from being exposed to secondary smoke.

All Ballarat Health Service's (BHS) sites are declared smokefree.  In some small instances in residential aged care settings an exemption may be in place to the smokefree policy (further advice regarding this is outlined in the non-clinical protocol NCG0017 Smoking - Compliance and Enforcement).

BHS acknowledges all people have a right to choose whether they smoke.  BHS has a role to support patients, clients and residents to be smokefree during their stay or involvement with a clinical service to support implementation of the smokefree policy.  BHS also has a role to support people to take steps towards quitting smoking.  Evidence has shown that advice from health professionals is one of the most effective ways to encourage people to quit, with one in every 33 conversations leading to a patient successfully quitting smoking (Stead et al, 2008).

As some patients who are experiencing nicotine withdrawal may present agitated and aggressive, which then poses a risk to the patient and staff, it is important that a patient is offered/provided nicotine replacement therapy (NRT) and intervention support during their inpatient stay.  Implementation of the clinical practice guideline CPG0124 Nicotine Dependency Management Among Inpatients is required for all inpatients who identify as nicotine dependent.