Housing evidence / case study · working draft
Amsterdam UMC: making hospital grounds smoke free
Two hospital sites combined preparation, quitting support and visible staff on the grounds to reduce on-site smoking.
01 / THE APPROACH
What was tried
Amsterdam UMC prepared its smoke-free grounds policy through more than 50 stakeholder meetings. Staff could access free quitting support, while inpatient care included nicotine treatment and behavioural support.
The hospital communicated the change through letters and signs and removed smoking shelters and ash bins. Trained officers patrolled both sites during office hours, answering questions and asking people smoking to put out their cigarettes.
02 / THE FINDINGS
What was learned
Researchers observed smoking across 32 locations. The proportion of people observed smoking fell from 17.4% before the policy to 3.3% afterwards. At 18 months it remained below baseline, at 5.0%.
03 / TRANSFER TO WALES
What Wales could learn
Delivery combined preparation with staff and patients, access to treatment, removal of smoking facilities and trained people regularly approaching smokers on the grounds.
The project needed continuing staff presence as well as communications. Its results concern smoking on the site; surrounding streets and neighbours would need their own assessment.
Sources & review
Garritsen et al. (2022), Impact of a smoke-free policy on smoking prevalence on hospital grounds: A before-after study. Tobacco Prevention & Cessation 8:20. DOI 10.18332/tpc/149476. Primary source checked 23 October 2026. The site-smoking percentages are not quit rates.
