Starting Sunday smoking of all kinds, including the use of e-cigarettes, will be restricted to temporary shelters on the grounds of the MUHC superhospital at the Glen Site.
In six months those shelters will be removed, and then smoking and vaping will be completely banned.
As a hospital the MUHC certainly has the staff, expertise, and resources to help addicts quit smoking, but ready or not, patients and staff will have to restrain themselves in the near future.
Executive Director and president of the MUHC Normand Rinfret says that as an ex-smoker, he understands how hard it can be to give up nicotine.
"I know it's difficult. I mean, I know personally it's difficult," said Rinfret.
But he firmly believes that it is completely inappropriate for people to be smoking at a hospital.
"We're a health centre, we have to show the example," said Rinfret.
"I think we're all partners in this, you know, reputation that we have as a great academic health science centre and I think it's a question of showing, giving the example."
About 1.4 million people smoke in Quebec, and half of them will die because of diseases linked to smoking.
The anti-smoking measures will spread to all MUHC hospitals and health centres by next May.
