In Re the Hundreds of Tanks of Patient Oxygen in Use Daily, To Prohibit All Smoking Facility-Wide at Veterans Hospitals.

To prevent the dangers of explosion and the resultant catastrophic injury and death from the inadvertent ignition of patient portable oxygen tanks. Currently, patients and guests, smokers and non-smokers, many of whom are using portable oxygen are forced to share entrances, exits, parking lots, and common areas of our VA Medical Centers. Enforcement is ineffective if attempted at all. Designation of smoking areas is ignored and are themselves unsafe--they are often adjacent to patient walkways heavily trafficked by thousands of patients and guests daily. Additionally, smokers view any area not designated a non-smoking area as a place to light-up. The Dallas VA Medical Center, Dallas, Texas, is the worst offender I have seen in forty years of visiting VA facilities.