Underscoring its position as an advocate for wellness, and to encourage healthy choices for the community, Marshall Medical Center will become a smoke-free facility effective July 1.

Marshall campuses, including the hospital, Cameron Park, El Dorado Hills, Georgetown and all clinic and outpatient locations, will no longer allow smoking on Marshall property. This includes vaporizers or e-cigarettes.

“The need for this policy is clear,” said Marshall CEO James Whipple. “Our mission is to improve the health of our community, so it’s impossible to justify supporting a habit that is not only terrible for the smoker’s health but can affect others as well. The policy change is in line with all other healthcare facilities in the region, which have already gone to smoke-free environments.”

To provide support to the community and to employees who smoke, Marshall will offer smoking cessation sessions free of charge to all at Marshall Hospital’s south wing lobby from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m.

One session has already begun and two more are scheduled: Tuesdays, beginning July 12 with a quit-by day of Aug. 2 (graduate on Aug. 23) and Mondays, beginning Aug. 8 with a quit-by date of Aug. 29 (graduate Sept. 19).

For more information and to register call (530) 626-2990.

When this change takes effect on July 1, signs will remind everyone of the new policy, and employees will be asked to help patients and visitors comply with the change.

“We appreciate the community’s support and understanding of why we need to make this change, and are confident that over time, it will just become an expectation of being at Marshall,” Whipple said. “Our biggest hope is that through our supportive smoking cessation resources, that we can positively affect the health of our patients and the community-at-large.”

Why kicking the habit is important
Here are some startling facts about what smoking does to your health, courtesy of the American Lung Association:

• Every year in the United States nearly 500,000 people die from tobacco use and second-hand smoke exposure, making it the leading cause of preventable death in the nation.
• Cigarette smoke contains more than 7,000 chemicals, at least 69 of which are known to cause cancer.
• Smoking is directly responsible for approximately 90 percent of lung cancer deaths and approximately 80 percent of deaths caused by chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, including emphysema and chronic bronchitis.
• Among adults who have ever smoked daily, 87 percent tried their first cigarette by the time they were 18 years of age and 95 percent had by age 21.
• Among current smokers, chronic lung disease accounts for 73 percent of smoking-related conditions. Even among smokers who have quit, chronic lung disease still accounts for 50 percent of smoking-related conditions.
• Smoking harms nearly every organ in the body and is a main cause of lung cancer and COPD. It also is a cause of coronary heart disease, stroke and a host of other cancers and diseases.