Not one fine has been issued since smoking was made illegal within hospital grounds in Scotland last year.
STV News asked for the data from all councils, who are responsible for enforcing the legislation, but of the 31 who answered and had hospitals in their area, not one has issued a penalty.
Wilma Brown, who is a nurse and member of Unison’s health committee, said it is “no surprise” there have not been any fines despite seeing people smoking on hospital grounds “every day”.
She said: “Generally they will move on because they know it’s not the right place to smoke, you just sometimes have to point it out to them.
“Sometimes people get quite irate with staff when they ask them to move on so we have had quite a lot of issues where we’ve had to call security but I think as time’s gone on people realise the reasons and it has got easier.”
The law came into force on September 5 2022, an extension of the voluntary smoke-free hospital grounds policy introduced in 2015.
It means it is illegal to smoke within 15 metres of a NHS hospital building including awnings, canopies, or any other overhanging structure connected to a hospital building.
Those who are caught could face a fixed penalty notice of £50 or a £1,000 fine if the matter is taken to court.
But councils said they do not have the resources to enforce it.
Sheila Duffy, chief executive of Ash Scotland, said the point of the law was not to fine people but to protect people recovering in hospitals from tobacco smoke.
She believes if that is happening then the law has worked but if not, then there is still a problem.
She said: “We know that enforcement officers and councils are under pressure and that councils are under funding pressure so I think it’s important that that funding is secured for them so that they know they have the people to go out there and observe and make sure that the law is being enforced.
“This is not however about fines it’s about clearing the air for people’s health and tobacco smoke is toxic, it’s preventable, it doesn’t need to be in hospitals.”
The policy is part of a Scottish Government aim to create a tobacco-free Scotland by 2034.
Public health minister Jenni Minto MSP hopes the lack of fines means people are “taking heed” of the new rules and have changed their behaviour.
“In some respects I think it’s not a bad thing that there’s been no fines because enforcement really is the last option,” she said.
“I would hope the fact that hospitals and environmental health officers are using a much more encouraging and educating process, as opposed to setting fines or giving fines through enforcement.”
Follow STV News on WhatsApp
Scan the QR code on your mobile device for all the latest news from around the country
