"Won't be a sec just stepping out for a ciggie" by Forest of Elders.

We all know smoking is bad for you, but at times cigarettes are said to calm the fierce beast within-us, a known fact also is ( a cigarette a day keeps the constipation at bay ), this statement alone is made by many general practioners; i.e. doctors.

But the latest uproar from the Alfred Hospital is the hospital have taken this non-smoking step one to far by taking away the only smoking bay that's truly needed, especially considering its from the pysch patient's ward, now come on these people cant go outside like normal patients and wander round.............. OR CAN THEY???

Recently discovered whilst on a visit to the Alfred hospital 7 psych patients free as birds unguarded standing outside their supposed secure facility having a cigarette.

Now really come on where is the sense in that , give it back to them or next will we hear of another 7 escapee's abroad a week later on the CNNNN Australian News Channels???

Thank you to the intelligent staff working on behalf of the Alfred Hospital Administration.!!!!

Editor´s Note: It is interesting to have correspondence on this topic. This is not the first comment made to us about smoking and the psych ward. Someone suggested to us that since the smoking was banned inside the covered room violent assaults on staff and other patients have gone up 4000%, is this true?

Given that most people are in a pretty fragile state in the psych ward, given that if some of them don´t understand where they are, isn´t it just another one size fits all approach laid down by the boffins without any thought or regard for the ramifications. Mind you this does beg another question, how many people has the Alfred chemically restrained in the last 12 months because they don´t have enough staff to properly manage patient health and wellbeing?

It is one this thing to support stopping smoking but in the same way that there is a huge amount of violence from drunks on footpaths should the ALP Government solve the problem by getting rid of all footpaths?