Table 4 Illustrative quotes when referring to how tobacco consumption impacts the hospital

Image (13 comments)

1: “Seeing the health workers smoking (in their suits) outside the campus does not project a good image. Health professionals should be examples in following healthy lifestyles” (Woman, nurse, non-clinician, former smoker)

2: “Health professionals who smoke at the entrances give a bad image”(Woman, doctor, both^a, never smoker)

3: “Butts around the hospital area give the impression that the hospital is a leisure area” (Man, nurse, both^a, smoker)

Role model (7 comments)

4: “Patients should think that if health professionals have not stopped maybe it is not so important to quit” (Woman, doctor, both^a, former smoker)

5: “As an organization and professional group we should not smoke ourselves” (Man, nurse, both^a, former smoker).

6: “Everyone has the right to do what she/he wants out of the work area. But in the hospital it should be forbidden to smoke and to go smoke outside” (Man, nurse, both^a, smoker)

Slack off (10 comments)

7: “Smoker workers need to go out of their workplace, leave the hospital grounds, so they can take 15 min every time they smoke a cigarette, which affects their productivity” (Woman, nurse, non-clinician, former smoker)

8: “It generates dysfunction in the work dynamics and although smokers try to go out [to smoke] when the workload is lower, normally they take more time off than they should, affecting the workload of other members of the team” (Woman, doctor, both^a, former smoker)

Hygiene (13 comments)

9: “The ashes and butts should be cleaned often from the grounds” (Man, doctor, non-clinician, former smoker)

10: “The smoke and smell is noticeable, and can be a bother to the patients and the rest of the staff” (Man, nurse, non-clinician, former smoker)

Tobacco cessation intervention lead by hospital health professionals (8 comments)

11: “I think that helping a smoker to quit is harder than assisting an alcoholic to stop drinking. The person in charge of this must be an expert on this, the rest of health professionals must give a good example and not smoke, at least in public” (Man, doctor, clinician, former smoker)

12: “To assist them (patients) YES, for instance, informing about the harmful effects of smoking, and also to assess their motivation but after this we should refer them to a special unit” (Woman, nurse, both^a, former smoker)

13: “I consider that our job is to advise patients and support them to quit, at the hospital level too” (Man, nurse, both^a, former smoker)

14: “A smoker could be more ready to quit smoking in the hospital and if the smoker remains abstinent for some days this could help to start a serious quit attempt” (Woman, nurse, clinician, former smoker)

15: “Tobacco cessation treatment should be provided, after the patient requests” (Women, nurse, clinician, non-smoker)

16: “The National Health System should provide treatment and coordinate tobacco cessation programs better” (Man, nurse, both*former smoker)

Compliance of the new smoke-free law on the hospital grounds (20 comments)

17: “Smoker workers usually comply with the law, but patients and visitors do not…no one corrects their infringements” (Woman, doctor, both^a, former smoker).

18: “It is very hard for smokers to not smoke outside of the building, but normally the compliance inside the building is correct” (Women, administration, non-clinician, never smoker)

19: “Some people do not understand correctly the non-smoking signs in the hospital campus, despite that the signs posting are clear and at each entrance of the campus” (Man, administration, clinician, former smoker)

20: “Generally the smoke-free campus policy is well complied with, but from time to time we have an infringement in the toilets, that are easy to detect because of the odor” (Women, administration, non-clinician, never smoker)

21: “The infringements have been solved with some verbal reminders. I am not aware of any other penalty” (Woman, nurse, both, never smoker)

22: “The visitors are the ones who infringe the ban most. They smoke at the main entrance of the hospital campus and not outside as posted” (Woman, doctor, both^a, former smoker)