Published: October 07, 2008 04:32 pm            

Clean indoor air — Region must honor ordinance

More than three years after the passage of a clean indoor air ordinance in Mercer County, sporadic smoking violations continue to be reported at businesses across the region.

That’s unfortunate. The ordinance as adopted by the Mercer County Board of Health clearly mandates a 100 percent clean air, or non-smoking, requirement for all restaurants, businesses and most other places open to the general public. There are a few exemptions, including free-standing bars, free-standing video lottery rooms, designated hotel and motel rooms, retail tobacco stores without a food service permit and private residences, except when those private residences are used as a child care or health care facility.

The clean indoor air ordinance was quite a controversial topic for the region three years ago. Opposition was particuarly fierce at the time in Mercer County, and there was some resistance as well to a similar proposal in neighboring McDowell County. However, the ultimate adoption of the clean indoor air ordinances helped snuff out the prolonged debate.

That is why we were surprised to learn last week from Donald Reed that violations of clean indoor air ordinances continue to be reported across southern West Virginia.

Reed, who is returning today as director of the Southern Coalfields Tobacco Prevention Network, said the coalition is planning a campaign to remind area residents of the ordinance.

While area health departments are in charge of the actual enforcement of the ordinance, Reed said the coalition is in charge of the education component. Because the coalition covers six counties — Mercer, McDowell, Monroe, Raleigh, Summers and Wyoming — Reed said coalition members in each county will be charged with visiting area businesses to remind them of existing clean indoor air ordinances.

Reed said one problem area appears to be local gas stations. That’s troubling considering that people shouldn’t be smoking at gas stations to begin with due to obvious safety concerns.

We applaud accelerated coalition efforts to remind area businesses of the existing clean indoor air ordinance.

When an ordinance or new law is adopted, we no longer have the luxury of choosing whether we will or won’t obey it. The clean indoor air ordinance should be — and must be — enforced. If there is a violation of the ordinance, those found in violation of the ordinance must be properly penalized as provided by the regulation.

        

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