AUGUSTA (AP) – Smokers who are patients at the Augusta Mental Health Institute can keep lighting up, at least for now.

AMHI consent decree Court Master Daniel Wathen ruled Friday that the hospital’s proposal to tighten its smoking ban should be put on the back burner until the state psychiatric hospital addresses other issues that affect patients’ lives.

“It is a singularly inappropriate time to impose an additional change in the daily life of staff and patients,” Wathen ruled Friday.

Wathen acknowledged the health benefits of eliminating smoking, and left open the possibility that hospital officials could reconsider imposing the smoking prohibition.

Associate Behavioral and Developmental Services Commissioner Jamie Morrill, who stepped in as acting AMHI superintendent after former Superintendent Lisa Kavanaugh resigned last week, said hospital officials may try again to impose the smoking ban. But he said his new job has given him a new perspective, and he agreed with Wathen’s decision.

“I think he’s absolutely right. This just isn’t the time to do this. There are just too many changes in the hospital taking place,” Morrill said.

Buildings at AMHI are already smoke-free, but the proposed policy would have banned smoking by patients anywhere on hospital grounds. It would also have prohibited them from having any tobacco products. Hospital workers would still have been able to smoke in their cars and keep tobacco products in secure areas.

Portland lawyer Peter Darvin, who represents past and present AMHI patients whose care is governed by the consent decree, said he was pleased with the decision.

Darvin said he would likely oppose the policy in the future because patients may choose to smoke during stressful treatment of their illnesses. He also said that patients at the Bangor Mental Health Institute who are also members of the consent-decree class may now have grounds to challenge the stricter smoking ban already in effect there.

“I think there’s going to be some natural tension now because BMHI has that policy,” Darvin said.

AP-ES-01-31-04 1209EST