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Dunedin Providing Forced Treatment for Some Smokers: Published: 2010-08-02 Views:88 reads; Smoking is to be banned at psychiatric wards in Dunedin, New Zealand, a move that has been called "forced treatment" by a Southern District Health Board member, according to a story by Eileen Goodwin for the Otago Daily Times.

The hospital advisory committee this week endorsed a plan to ban smoking at Wakari Hospital and Dunedin Hospital mental health wards.

Board member, Richard Thomson, said the ban was akin to forced treatment for psychiatric patients who were not entitled to leave hospital grounds.

This would not be acceptable for any other group of patients, he said.

He emphasised he was not pro-smoking and said he supported encouraging patients to quit.

However, using psychiatric patients' "coincidental imprisonment" to enforce quitting was not right.

Even inpatients with severe respiratory conditions were able to smoke if they left hospital grounds, some even "dragging their drip" on to the street.