Georgia's Psychiatric Hospitals Going Smoke-Free

Georgia's mental health facilities next year will go completely tobacco free. WABE's Jim Burress has more.
State officials say Georgia's seven psychiatric hospitals are just like other healthcare facilities--and as such, should adopt by policy rules that further healthful living:
"If we went and got our gallbladder out, we wouldn't expect to be sitting in recuperation smoking."
That's Tom Wilson, spokesman for the Georgia Department of Behavioral Health. He says individual facilities' policies have to this point varied widely:
" in some cases, nearly smoke-free; in other cases, allowing designated smoking areas. And in some, even there would be places where you might be able to purchase cigarettes. So all of those things make for a good reason that we should have one statewide policy that applies to every hospital."
The tobacco-free policy takes effect January 5th. Wilson says hospitals will offer smoking cessation classes to the estimated 2,200 affected patients, and to employees, before that date.