Buffalo Niagara Medical Campus going tobacco-free
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BUFFALO, N.Y. -- People can still be seen smoking while walking through the Buffalo Niagara Medical Campus. But, come Wednesday the habit will be no more.
Michael Ball, Buffalo Niagara Medical Campus Director of Planning said, "Not only will you be prohibited from smoking around the hospitals but whether it's a research facility or education facility, tobacco will not be allowed."
The 120-acre campus is going tobacco free. Some visitors YNN spoke with were pleased with the move.
Mark Adler was visiting a relative when he said, "I think it's a great idea. It's really annoying to walk past people smoking at the doors and around. I've seen this work in other places."
Several buildings on the campus are already smoke-free including Buffalo General Hospital and Roswell Park Cancer Institute.
The new ban impacts the nearly 12,000 employees who work on the campus and the more than 1-million people who visit each year.
Officials say the goal is to keep people who work and visit the medical campus healthy and safe, but not all are happy about it. Several employees who didn't want to go on camera told us they will just end up going the short distance off campus to light up. Medical Campus officials say they have a plan to discourage that.
"We're working with people in the communities around us and lawmakers so we can mitigate a negative impact," Ball said. "So whether it's litter or people smoking, we don't want that impact to pushed into the neighborhoods."
The medical campus is also helping smokers to quit by offering a special program. Officials also encourage smokers to call the New York State Smokers' Quitline at 1-866-NY-QUITS (1-866-697-8487).