Much huffing, and some puffing, as smoking banned on hospital grounds

A blanket smoking ban introduced yesterday in all Mid-West public hospital campuses was met with the usual amount of puff, mixed with a little bit of huff.

A security man at Mid-Western Regional Hospital in Limerick said: “People had their cigarette but outside the grounds. There were a few F’s but that was about it.”

Throughout the day patients — some in wheelchairs, others moving with the assistance of walking aides — trooped past the front gates before drawing their packs.