The request came from chief nursing and midwifery officer Leanne Samuel, who told the Southern District Health Board's first hospitals' advisory committee meeting she was disappointed at the level of misinformation about the issue of smoking for mental health patients.
It was imperative there was consistent leadership on issues such as smoking and this involved both the board and clinicians.
Many district health boards had started to address this issue and there was an enormous amount of literature supporting such moves and showing the negative effect, on mental health patients, of smoking.
Mr Thomson has been critical of a pilot at Wakari Hospital's Ward 9B, where only patients considered not to be a clinical risk were allowed off the grounds to smoke, proceeding without board approval.
The pilot has since been halted after concerns raised by Mr Thomson.
He said his issue was that the previous Otago hospital advisory committee, which he chaired, had specifically said there be no change to existing policies until such proposals were brought to the committee.
The will of the board had not been followed.
Mr Thomson said some of Mrs Samuel's comments were "really unfortunate".
He said he believed the board should be doing everything it could to help people stop smoking, but it was not the job of a hospital to lock people in to prevent them from doing so.
The long-term patients were in a different situation from someone who was in hospital for four days.
It was a question of being humane.
His stand was backed by Louise Rosson, who called for a "compassionate and real-world" resolution.
Chairman Paul Menzies said the Southland Hospital campus had been smoke-free for years and a small enclosed area for smokers was being phased out.
It was suggested information be brought to the committee about the Southland experience, and views of Wakari Hospital patients also be considered.
A report on the question is expected to be brought to next month's committee meeting.
