I worked in a hospital (as a secretary) in the late 80s/early 90s, and by that time no one was “allowed” to smoke. But probably about 20% did, including my boss, who would call me into her office when she wanted a cigarette. We would have one together, her rationale being that if she got caught, she could blame it on me. I thought that was kind of a silly idea - she was a department head, and no one was going to tell her what to do - but it saved me a trip to the street, so…
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Loud gum poppers were my special hell.
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The hospital I worked in (late 70s) had a separate room in the cafeteria for smokers. When they moved to a brand new facility they had a prominent sign in the entrance, “This is a hospital. One does not smoke in a hospital”. Finally!
To me smoking never made sense (there was no research on it when I was a kid); I vowed to never smoke, and stuck with it.
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When i lived in Nevada for 6 months . I wanted to start smoking . So i was going to start with the unfiltered Lucky Strike and Camel straights cigarettes.
It never caught on . I found it boring
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I was intrigued , and found few more studies, although none too recent.
One in 2016 suggests at one time physicians smoked more than the general public in Europe, but not in the US.
Another is even older, 2011, and surveys providers only in the US. It reports numbers less than the general population
This one compares numbers by “occupation”, but doesn’t give a source or describe the “research”.
I knew a psychiatrist who smoked. I always thought tobacco was a cruel master when I saw him smoking. That’s some serious juju!
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My husband was an internal medicine intern/resident at Yale 1986 - 1989. He doesn’t recall any medical staff smoking inside the hospital. He think he remembers some going outside to smoke on the sidewalk.
He left for a post-doc in cancer biology in 1989, returning to Yale to moonlight in the ER for a few years occasionally. Doesn’t recall any medical staff smoking then, either.
Yes, those were different times. Working 36 hours at a minimum several times a week, returning soon afterward. He does recall working while sick and throwing up in the bathroom. He was told to stay and keep working because there was no one to replace him. Also no one smoked in the “call rooms,” where residents tried to sleep for a while when they could. There was a huge incident at Yale during his time there where one resident raped another in a call room.
He doesn’t recall medical staff smoking in the hospital when he was in medical school, either, in California.
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Clearly, my experiences are but anecdotal, and mostly limited to the NE of the country, but they clearly left a lasting impression 
I don’t think anyone in CA smokes anymore… well, cannabis perhaps 
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As someone who’s spent entirely too much time in hospitals since entering this world in 1968, I can absolutely confirm the existence of smoking sections INSIDE hospitals in Illinois. They were used not only by staff but by my mother, who smoked Newports (yes, a nice Jewish lady liked menthols) ‘til the late 70’s/early 80’s before quitting for good.
Hell, when I started college in 1986, restaurants still had specific ‘NO smoking’ sections, which were just one corner of an undivided dining room. ‘Smoking’ was the default.
Moving to CA from the Midwest in the early 90’s was a revelation. You couldn’t even smoke in BARS! It was glorious.
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“More doctors smoke Camels” ads
Apparently every US accredited hospital had to follow the same rules after JCAHO mandated that they go smoke-free by 31 December 1993. I found 2007 for the NHS in the UK.
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Remember when there used to be smoking “sections” on airplanes?
As if …
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I have spent the last couple weeks in Greece. Ash trays run rampant here. My Polartec jacket is a smoke scent magnet.
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I remeber sitting in the first row behind the curtain flying back from Europe.
I was so stuffed up and nauseous by the time qe landed that the immigration guy asked if I needed a wheelchair
It was the last flight with smoking i ever took…they banned it soon after, happily
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My granddaddy smoked Camels. Died from a heart attack.
I remember flying Air France to and from the US in 97. The staff and smoking passengers would meet where the plane ‘kitchen’ was and smoke on the flight over. The flight back everyone just smoked in their seats.
I mostly smoked out of self-defense. Yuck.
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Alitalia, over and back. 1977. The whole plane was an ashtray. 
I mean. People smoked errrrrrrrywhere. Doctor’s offices, schools, cars, buses, restaurants.
The “good ole days.” 
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My dorm room came equipped with a bed, a desk, a chair, a lamp, a bookshelf, and an ashtray.
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Remember when cars had ashtrays?
And cigarette lighters. Luxury cars were distinguished by having multiple lighters so the back seat passengers could blaze up.
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