What do smokers do?

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What do smokers do?

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What do smokers do in assisted living? Do they go out to the patio? Do they smoke in their room?

I'm wondering because my dad smokes. While I'm not placing him yet, I'm wondering for when I do.

It's mainly when he is bored or anxious/nervous.

Addiction Assisted Living Care Decisions

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It depends on each individual facility and state law. Some ALs don’t allow smoking anywhere on the premises, others allow smoking in designated areas or in the persons room.

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Here there are designated smoking areas. When my mom was in a nursing home for rehab there was a patio outside. I can’t tell you how many times I saw residents light up in the hall on the way.

Did it bother me? Not in the least and I have allergies and asthma. All I could feel was if I were stuck in a place like they were, suffering with God knows what, I might be smoking too!

I’m sure some of them wished they were smoking more than just tobacco!

Please don’t lecture me about attitude. Seriously though, I truly hope that I die before I reach that stage. So many people in this nursing home were crying to go home. It was terribly depressing.

Sadly, it is sometimes necessary to place people in facilities. Too bad we can’t all just die in our sleep. That’s how I want to go.

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Lvnsm, where my Dad had moved to senior living, smoking was only allowed on the "smoking" porches. Smoking was not allowed inside the building, not allowed in the dining room nor in ones room. Too easy for an older person to fall asleep with a lighted cigarette.

I assume that family members bring cigarettes to those living in senior care. It's my understanding that cigarettes cannot be mailed by the U.S. Postal Service, and there are some restrictions with other carriers, such as UPS, etc.

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By law, don't think he can smoke in the facility. Itsca public place. If not by law, the facility may not allow it. He may be allowed to go outside.

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there is no federal that says no smoking in a facility. The OP hasn’t indicated their state on their profile either. The law varies from state to state & not many states have prohibited smoking in an assisted living (which is not a public space, it’s a private facility).

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Yes, many AL and IL complexs do not allow smoking anywhere on the premises. Smoking is a great hazard due to the possibility of fires - these buildings consist of multiple occupied rooms or apartments where fires can spread from unit to unit. It's not a judgment on smoking or smokers, it's a matter of liability.

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My mothers retirement community- several buildings and some free standing cottages and duplexes- did not allow smoking on the property.

The sidewalk surrounding the complex was public property- so that’s where the smokers went.

Use to crack me up... one old guy
would sit on his walker-seat and smoke - just to the side of the driveway I used when visiting. The part that cracked me up? He always had his oxygen tank with him. He was a tough old goat!

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You know he shouldn't have been smoking around oxygen. And that is another reason people wouldn't be able to smoke in a facility, residents using oxygen.

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My mom was in an assisted living facility for a few months after her stroke and emergency brain surgery. They gave her nicotine patches.

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I live in a state that says no smoking within 20 feet of the door. Nothing about windows! Oy vey!

My dads facility allowed smoking as long as it was outside. This was addressed in the 1st interview and tour of facilities. They brought it up, my dad doesn't smoke, but they made sure I knew the rules up front.

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Hi please don't shoot the messanger guys

But if dads "pleasure"for want of a better word in life is to have a ciggie...so be it imho. ....esp when anxious ...if it settles him and makes him feel more relaxed etc. (We are all aware of the negatives of smoking. ...but this is not the main issues

I have seen homes /places etc that have garden areas allocated for this
Each place has its own rules
Im just saying in a nutshell. ..if thats his worse vice ...let him be

He probably has so many other ussues to deal with

If his dr was real concerned ...patches are an alternative to some smokers only
(But very hard to light them up. joke)
In later life ..aging lonely etc pls let him enjoy what he enjoys ...
.my great grandmother smoked to 103.

Just making light. Pls dont shoot me
Cheers

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I think we all agree that after a point let them enjoy their smoke. Thats OK in his own home or apt but ALs there are residents with illnesses that can't be around a smoker. I was just behind a man at Walgreens who reeked of cigerettes and it made me half sick. I haven't lived with a smoker for 45 years.

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Here in MD at the MC my dad was in, also an AL, the residents could smoke outside. So did the staff. And at the rehab mom was in, the residents smoked on the patio out front. Most of these places know that they are not going to change those long ingrained habits.. so they do provide a place. Sort of like hotels do.. So don't let this be the deal breaker Dad clings too, just tell him there is a place he can go.. just not inside.

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That's a good point. If they are going to do it, provide a place outside.
I guess that's one thing i will find out among other things, when i eventually look into places.

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I have a friend whose parent in assisted living has converted to vaping. She vapes all day indoors at her assisted living place and is well within the rules

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Smoking is a privilege that may be granted by privately owned premises. It's not a right.

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It'll all depend on whether or not the facility allows it, but I do recommend that your dad try the VUSE vapor system. I quit smoking cigarettes 4 1/2 years ago using it. No flames, no mess, no nasty odors, and my smoker's cough (which was bad) disappeared within a week of starting the vapor.

My mother is also a smoker, and after I was using vapor only, I couldn't stand the smell of her cigarette smoke, so I started her on the VUSE, too. She'd been dropping ashes on the floor and burning holes in her dresses anyway (THAT was scary), so there was definitely a safety issue there that the vapor took care of.

Don't let the current uproar over vaping keep your dad from at least trying it. VUSE is marketed by RJ Reynolds, so the quality is consistent. The bad vapor stories you see on the news are mostly due to street THC and/or people mixing their own juice.

BTW, I use the VUSE Alto version, which I like better than the original Solo model. It took a little time to get used to vaping, but I've had no ill effects. (And no, I don't work for RJR - this is just a glowing review and recommendation.🙂)

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FULL DISCLOSURE: I am a smoker.

Here in California ... ALL No-Smoking Zones are also No-Vaping Zones.

Facilities may (or may not) allow *outside* smoking/vaping, in specific spaces. Access, of course, depends on whether the resident is able to get to those spaces.

If you find TOTAL non-smoking/non-vaping situations, with no legal spaces within reach ... you may want to inquire as to whether strong, long-acting nicotine patches are allowed ... AND ... can residents access them readily?

Nicotine withdrawal is tough. Not everyone can safely withstand cold turkey. Zero-tolerance is not always healthy.

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Okay, seriously this isn’t funny but sometimes we have to laugh or cry, right?

My now deceased brother who had many issues smoked in the ER at the hospital! I about died. The guy next to him had oxygen.

I told my brother that if he didn’t put out the cigarette I was walking out that second. His response was, “Okay, but just let me take a few more drags first.”

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Sometimes all we can do is try to find the humor in certain situations lol.

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Whem my mom was in an assisted living/rehab center she was able to go out to the patio to smoke. The family supplied the cigarettes and lighter and the nurses locked it up in their office with their name and room number on the patient's plastic container. There were set times to go out and smoke. I think about 5 times a day. The nurses would put fire proof aprons on the patients and hand out and light their smokes for them to keep them from taking a cigarette back to their room. I know it sounds controlling but smokers will light up anywhere if they can. And yes it's a liability issue when some are on oxygen like my mom. I finally got her switched to vaping and shes doing much better breathing now.

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My Great-Great-Aunt was a chain smoker. She had to go to the desk to ask for cigarettes and smoked where she was told to smoke. It stopped when she forgot how to get them, she didn't remember she had to ask for them.

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This depends on the communities policies. Some allow smoking some do not. If the ALF allows smoking another factor that will be considered is your dad's cognitive status. If he has dementia then they may require him to be supervised depending on his level of his dementia. If he does not have any dementia then he should be able to manage his smoking routine.

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My mother lives in ALF that has a designated smoking section. Before moving to ALF, she was smoking up to three packs a day in her home. Now, she smokes about 1/2 pack since she has to go outside. She lives on the second floor of her ALF, which means she also has to walk (exercise) to go smoke. We tried nicotine patches, but she would still smoke cigarettes on the nicotine patches. We also tried vaping devices. This didn't work for her either.

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Probably the best thing to do is check state law and facility policies. I would think if he needed any kind of MC, smoking would have to cease. AL, depends on state/facility rules.

Our mother is in a multi-level facility, with IL/AL/MC (she's in the MC.) Very often when I arrive, there are people outside in chairs just in front of the facility or nearby on the grounds smoking, so on the grounds is okay. The chairs are located under roofing, so they are protected from rain/snow, etc, but not the cold! The nurse in the MC section is a smoker, and she goes outside on the loading dock (closest access to outside!)

Although those in IL and AL likely understand the rules and would go outside, if they start to forget or decide it is too cold out, what is to stop them from smoking in their own rooms? BTW, I think an indoor smoking ban should apply at ALL facilities regardless of level, and this is from a 4 butt/day smoker (outside only for me!)

I do like the option to have to seek out butts and lighters from lock down and someone to monitor so they don't sneak in with it, but that would likely be hard to coordinate (unless it was possible to set "times" for smoking, which isn't likely!)

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Ask the facility for their policy. The NH my Papa was in allowed smoking on two of their patios. He smoked those long cigars, so he would be out there forever!

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Some ALs allow smoking in a resident's apartment with the door closed (and often, with an air cleaning device running). Some require that the resident go outdoors, just like their employees do.

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The ones in my area have little smoking areas outside where there is a gazebo and standing ash trays. The CNA's decide when you can go though unless the patient is allowed to roam around free. It is according to your abilities and diagnosis, etc. You know what I mean. That is the only bad part for smokers or anything really is that sometimes you have to wait until someone can assist you. That is why some people do not want to go to assisted living and lose the right to do what they want, when they want. That is definitely a snag for family and staff at the nursing facilities. I do sympathize with the smoker patients though because that is as much an addiction as an anti-anxiety medication and they can get very agitated if they can fire one up within a given timeline. If they are in a group setting being entertained, that urge may pass after a little while but it will come back a little later. Check out the facilities who do make arrangements for the elderly patients who still like a smoke sometimes. I noticed at my Mom's facility, some of the cna's smoked outside near that gazebo on their break or during their lunch time so I'm sure you can find one. Good luck to you.

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I saw tons of employees smoking at my mom’s rehab. I suppose they would go out in the street if they wanted a cigarette bad enough.

When my dad was in the hospital I would hear the nurses tell family members that they could smoke on the roof top. That was the designated area for them. The elevator took them up to the roof.

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At the independent living facility-- at first they let my mother smoke in her room as part of the grandfathered in. Then when we moved to a larger apt-- she smoked on the balcony-- and then one October she proclaimed loudly it was TOO COLD ! And that she would not go out there again -- and in her declining and dementia-- she never smoked again-- now at Assisted Living facillites-- they will not let you smoke at all-- most will not let you smoke at all prolly due to folks on oxygen. get him on the patch and then wean him off it. He will forget it... remember-- redirect !

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True, patients in hospitals are given patches. So why not in facilities.

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I think it Depends on the State and Where one is Residing. It seems so Outside on the Somewhere when they are Out and About enjoying some fresh air. I know many hospitals will not even allow you to smoke on their Premises..Check into your Facility you are Interested in.

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Most facilities are tobacco free. There are a few thought that have a designated smoking area outside the facility.

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