BEAVER, UT – The Beaver County Commission
recently passed an outdoor smoking ordinance restricting tobacco use on county
property to at least 100 feet away from a public building entrance. Beaver
County joins over 60 other counties and cities in Utah that have adopted
outdoor smoking policies.
"I am pleased
that the county is encouraging and supporting these tobacco-free zones,"
says Tammy Pearson, Beaver County Commissioner.
"This will keep our public areas clean, prevent exposure to secondhand
smoke, and reinforce the message to our children that tobacco use is a health
risk to everyone."
Research shows that public tobacco policies play a part in
discouraging youth from beginning to smoke when the community supports healthy
environmental norms. “Creating a healthy environment through consistent
messaging at home, school, the work place and the public is key for our youth
because 90% of adult smokers start on or before the age of 18," says Clint
Albrecht, Health Educator for the Southwest Utah Public Health Department
(SWUPHD). Coupled with the fact that
nearly 80% of adult smokers want to quit, it makes sense to help kids avoid
smoking in the first place.
Despite significant declines the past few decades, tobacco
use remains a public health challenge.
Smoking continues to be the #1 preventable killer in our country, taking
480,000 lives annually. Nearly 50,000 of
those premature deaths are linked to exposure to secondhand smoke. About half
of all Utahns are exposed to secondhand smoke in outdoor settings on a weekly
basis.
For more information on the new Beaver County ordinance,
visit www.beaver.utah.gov. For adults and youth wanting to quit smoking,
cessation services can be found at www.waytoquit.org, 1-800-QUIT-NOW ,
or the SWUPHD website (www.swuhealth.org).
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