F926: Have policies on smoking
F926 is one of the federal requirements every Medicare and Medicaid certified nursing home must meet. CMS describes it as: Have policies on smoking.
It sits in CMS's environmental category.
CMS Health Deficiencies file, data as of September 1, 2026. The files hold each home's last three standard inspections and three years of complaint visits.
How seriously inspectors rate it
Every citation gets a letter for how much harm inspectors found and how many residents it touched (how to read the letters). 26.1% of F926 citations came from a complaint visit rather than a routine inspection.
By letter: C 2, D 165, E 76, F 23, J 3, K 4, L 3.
What inspectors wrote
Three recent F926 citations from different states, quoted from the inspectors' statements of deficiencies (CMS form 2567). Names are removed by CMS.
Inspectors wrote, July 22, 2026, scope and severity DBased on observation, record review, and interview, the facility failed to implement its smoking policies and procedures to ensure smoking materials were maintained by nursing staff for 1 of 3 residents reviewed for smoking safety (Resident #74).
Avante at Leesburg, Inc, Leesburg, FL
Inspectors wrote, July 22, 2026, scope and severity DBased on observation, interview, and record review, facility failed to follow the Smoking Policy plan for two of five sampled residents (Resident 1 and Resident 2). This failure had the potential for Resident 1 and Resident 2 not receiving appropriate care and smoking safety instructions specific to the residents smoking need.
Mountain View Conv Hosp, Sylmar, CA
Inspectors wrote, July 17, 2026, scope and severity DBased on clinical record review, staff and resident interviews, and select policy review, it was determined the facility failed to assure that smoking paraphernalia was properly secured for one smoking resident to assure the use of these materials were utilized in a safe manner for one resident who smoked (Resident 28).
Pavilion at St. Luke Village, the, Hazleton, PA
Most recent F926 citations at the harm or jeopardy level
Newest first, all 10 in the current files. Each home's page shows the citation in full context, with its correction status.
| Inspection | Home | Town | Letter | Visit |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| March 6, 2026 | Naples Health and Rehabilitation Center | Naples, FL | J | Standard |
| February 27, 2026 | Pruitthealth - Holly Hill, LLC | Valdosta, GA | J | Standard |
| January 9, 2026 | Award Care at Beneva | Sarasota, FL | L | Standard |
| August 29, 2025 | Aviata at Santa Barbara | Cape Coral, FL | L | Standard |
| July 26, 2024 | Shady Acres Health & Rehabilitation | Newton, TX | J | Complaint |
| June 3, 2024 | Cumberland Health and Rehab | Bridgeport, AL | K | Complaint |
| March 25, 2024 | Seabreeze Nursing and Rehabilitation | Texas City, TX | K | Complaint |
| February 15, 2024 | Terrell Healthcare Center | Terrell, TX | K | Complaint |
| February 5, 2024 | Paradigm at Westbury | Houston, TX | K | Complaint |
| December 1, 2023 | The Bristol Care Center | Tampa, FL | L | Standard |
Most recent F926 citations
F926 citations by state
Counts depend on how many homes a state has and how often its inspectors visit, so a larger number is not by itself a worse record.
By inspection year: 2018 1, 2019 9, 2020 3, 2021 2, 2022 8, 2023 47, 2024 68, 2025 81, 2026 57.
Common questions
- What is F926 in a nursing home inspection?
- F926 is the federal requirement to "have policies on smoking". CMS files it under environmental. A home cited under F926 did not meet that requirement at the inspection.
- How often is F926 cited?
- The CMS files as of September 1, 2026 list 276 F926 citations at 260 nursing homes, 77 of them in the 12 months to that date. 3.6% were rated as actual harm or immediate jeopardy.
- Is a F926 citation serious?
- It depends on the letter. Most F926 citations (95.7%) were rated as potential for more than minimal harm, D to F. 10 were immediate jeopardy, the most serious level.
The interpretive guidance inspectors use for each F-tag is CMS's State Operations Manual, Appendix PP. NursingHomeClear reports the citations as CMS records them and is not affiliated with CMS. All F-tags · Methodology