Anti-smoking activists say the smoking ban in effect for all Alberta hospital grounds is not well enforced. (CBC)Smoking bans outside Alberta hospitals are not enforced strictly enough, anti-smoking activists say.

Smokers routinely light up just steps away from the entrance of the Foothills Medical Centre in Calgary, said Les Hagen, a spokesman for Alberta Action on Smoking and Health.

"I think the most disturbing part of it is when staff are violating the policy because, A, it doesn't reflect very good on the organization itself, and B, it certainly doesn't set a very good example for patients and visitors," said Hagen.

"Presumably if people aren't complying with those policies, the health authority can remove them from the premises," he said.

But an official with Alberta Health services said a shortage of staff makes it impossible to patrol all hospital grounds in Alberta.

"You also have to realize our officers can't be on the property 24/7," said Ed Yeomans, who oversees security at hospitals in southern Alberta.

Officials usually just quietly move smokers along, rather than order them off the property, he added.