Health Ministry bans smoking in public and private hospitals

Santo Domingo.– To mark the "World No-Tobacco Day" this Sunday, May 31the Health Ministry issued a resolution declaring that all public and private health facilities in the country are "smoke-free" places.

The initiative was announced at a press conference by Collective Health director Jose Manuel Puello, who said that one of thegreatest death threats worldwide is caused by smoking and people who are exposed to secondhand smoke.

Resolution number 18 of May 28, 2015 declares as "somoke-free" those facilities such as hospitals, clinics, medical laboratories, medicaloffice buildings, diagnostic X-ray areas, dental clinics and Public Health administrativeoffices.

The measure extends to the perimeter of those health facilities including hallways, parking lots and other outdoor areas.

Puello revealed that according to the World Health Organization (WHO), the smoking addiction kills nearly 6 million people worldwide and over 80% of preventable deaths occur in low-income and lower middle-income countries.