News Release

Hospital Contact
Julie Dunn
Marketing and Public Relations Specialist Coordinator
(563) 244-3519

Mercy Medical Center Implements Tobacco Free Campus

On July 1st the State of Iowa will become the 14th state in the nation to implement a statewide smoking ban that includes restaurants, bars and workplaces. At this same time, Mercy Medical Center will prohibit all tobacco use anywhere on Mercy campuses, including parking lots and sidewalks.

“Our buildings have been smoke free for several years,” said Donna Oliver, CEO and president of Mercy Medical Center. “We are expanding the policy because we strongly believe in providing the healthiest and safest environment for all of our patients, visitors, associates, and medical staff.”

With the implementation of this policy, the use of tobacco products - including cigarettes, cigars, pipes, and smokeless tobacco - will not allowed on any building owned, leased or operated by Mercy to ensure a healthy environment for everyone. Mercy locations include the North and South campuses, Mercv Child Care, and Mercy Living Centers (formerly Bluff Terrace and Wyndcrest).

“There is a wealth of information that confirms the health risks associated with smoking,” said Oliver, adding that this is the right move when more and more studies are indicating the harmful effects of second-hand smoke.

According to the American Cancer Society, in data collected in the late 1990s by the Centers of Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), an adult male who smokes loses an average of 13.2 years of his life while a female who smokes loses an average of 14.5 years of life due to smoking. Diseases brought on from smoking can also rob a person of quality of life, limiting activities and making it harder to breath, get around and work.

A Mercy task force has been working on the tobacco-free policy for several years and has worked with New Directions locally for support and education to assist with the transition. Signs will be posted upon entering the Mercy Medical Center locations to remind the public of the new policy.