The
board will hold a public hearing Wednesday, Aug. 8 on an ordinance
prohibiting tobacco use at four county facilities in Astoria: the public
service buildings at 800 and 820 Exchange St.; the Judge Guy Boyington
Building at 857 Commercial St.; and the public works complex at 1196
Olney Ave. The hearing is part of the board’s regular meeting beginning
at 10 a.m. at the Boyington Building.
The
move is part of a two-phase plan that, if adopted, will eventually
extend the ban to all county facilities, including the Sheriff’s
Office/jail
and county courthouse in Astoria and the Parole and Probation office
and animal shelter in Warrenton. The target date to extend the ban to
all facilities is March 2013.
Current
county rules prohibit smoking within 50 feet of entrances and windows
of county buildings. Under the new policy, cigarette, cigar and pipe
smoking, as well as chew and other smokeless tobacco, would be
prohibited in buildings and adjacent grounds, including parking lots.
Violation of the ordinance would be classified as a Class B violation,
which carries a fine of up to $300.00
Clatsop
County Public Health Director Margo Lalich noted that public health
agencies traditionally have led the national and global efforts to
reduce
tobacco use, and that tightening tobacco control policies has been
shown to reduce tobacco consumption and the impact of second-hand smoke.
Both
Columbia Memorial Hospital in Astoria and Providence Seaside Hospital
have instituted tobacco-free campuses, and on Aug. 2 Gov. John Kitzhaber
signed an executive order that will prohibit tobacco use at all state
facilities by 2015.
In
Clatsop County, more than 6,400 adults smoke regularly, and 1,525
suffer from serious illness caused by tobacco use; 78 people a year die
from
tobacco-related causes. Tobacco-related illnesses cost $14 million a
year in medical care.
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