The most populous county in Minnesota is planning to prohibit smoking on any county property, even if smokers are in their own cars.
Lighting up is already banned inside the Hennepin County Government Center in Minneapolis but if new proposals are approved, smokers may be liable for fines on pavements outside and in vehicles parked on county grounds.
Board chairman Mike Opat said the new ban would tackle ‘an ugly and disgusting habit that visits itself on everybody else’.
If passed, the ban would take effect from July 1 at county buildings, with further measures rolled out at libraries, county sites and county-leased properties over the subsequent months.
Jill Hamilton, who runs the Hennepin Couynty Healthworks programme, said smokers would not be sought out but redirected by security staff if spotted lighting up on prohibited ground.
‘The intent is not to punish anybody, it’s to create a healthy environment,’ she told the Star Tribune.
Supporters of the plans believe it would reduce county employees’ exposure to secondhand smoke as well as improving workplace productivity and creating a cleaner environment outside county buildings.
‘If we’re able to pass this policy, it would help pave the way for other counties going through the same struggles and pave the way as an example,’ said Tera King, wellness analyst for the Healthworks programme.
It was reported earlier this month that several hospitals and medical firms are not considering job applications from smokers while the Hennepin County proposals seem aligned to a growing nationwide movement for smoking bans in public buildings.
But while the Hennepin County Board is taking a stand on public health issues, other state legislators want a smoking-ban for bars and restaurants to be repealed.
The plan to prohibit smoking on county property has also been questioned by Commissioner Jeff Johnson – a non-smoker – who said legislation could be heavy-handed when smokers could simply walk across the road from county buildings.
(Source: Daily Mail)
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2 Responses
Though not a smoker myself, I get worried each time that fascist methods are used for the supposed benefit of the public. What guarantees do we have that the next target of the busybody do-gooders won’t be our community?
The government needs to make up it’s mind here.
Are they looking to get rid of smoking once and for all or do they want to continue bleeding smokers dry in new taxes?
This “smoking ban” should be seen for what it is, playing both sides against the middle.
By “banning smoking even in your own car” they are pandering to the anti tobacco lobby and showing their constituants that they want to make their jurisdiction “healtheir” to live in.
But by still allowing smoking else where, they are just making sure their pockets stay full with the unfair taxes levied on cigarettes.