County commissioners pitch smoking ban
WALDO COUNTY : Waldo County government property may soon join the ranks of a growing number of entirely smoke-free places.
On July 14 the Waldo County Commissioners proposed the complete smoking ban during a routine review of county policy. While several county officials present at the meeting raised questions about the effect of an outright ban on the personal liberties of smokers, the commissioners seemed to agree on the need for a smoking cessation program.
If the ban is implemented, the county would likely receive support from Healthy Waldo County, a public health organization funded with tobacco settlement money and dedicated in part to discouraging smoking.
HWC Administrator Vyvyenne Ritchie met with the county commissioners on Tuesday to discuss a smoking cessation program. Ritchie invoked the widely documented dangers of second-hand smoke and stated a statistic from HWC literature: that 80 percent of people who smoke want to quit.
“By implementing this policy, you’re supporting them being more healthy,” she said.
According to Ritchie, the “support” would not be limited to a slap on the wrist. HWC would offer a range of resources to county employees who wished to quit smoking, from publications to support groups and access to the Maine Tobacco Helpline. Nicotine patches could be used to help workers get through shifts where taking a smoking break would be impractical, she said.
The commissioners were generally receptive to the proposed ban, but Commissioner Donald Berry raised questions about interfering with personal liberties.
“When you talk about it being hard to quit, I know,” Berry said. “Why? Because I don’t think I could ever quit dark chocolate.”
“But we’re not taking your chocolate away,” replied Commissioner Amy Fowler. “We’re just telling you you can’t eat it here.”
Ritchie said that, in her experience as a nurse, she became aware that smoking is among the hardest addictions for people to overcome. It’s legal, and often people have been smoking since they were teenagers, she said, making it more difficult for them to quit later.
Smoking is currently prohibited within 25 feet of public entrances to county buildings. On Tuesday, the possibility of employees wishing to smoke on break being pushed out to the sidewalks where the regulations would not apply came up several times.
Regional Communications Center Director Owen Smith spoke of his employees taking smoke breaks outside the Communications Center building. If smoking were banned on the property, Smith said, there would still be ways to call staff members back to the building in the event of an emergency. Smith sympathized with anyone struggling to quit, and cautioned the county to give employees plenty of advance notice.
“I’m sensitive to it,” he said. “My demon is Pepsi.”
When Ritchie brought up the cumulative expense of buying cigarettes, Commissioner Bill Shorey revealed that his was Pepsi, too. “I’m with Owen here. I know what two Diet Pepsis a day costs,” he said. “It’s not cheap.”
The move to tighten smoking restrictions at county facilities comes on the heels of recent state legislation prohibiting smoking at state beaches and parks, and at outdoor dining areas. A bill on workplace smoking, signed into law on June 8, eliminates designated indoor smoking areas, and extends laws that prohibit smoking in the workplace to “residential facilities” that are licensed by the Department of Health and Human Services, a designation that includes day cares.
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