Local efforts curb outdoor tobacco use
The World Health Organization created this annual event in 1987 to draw global attention to the tobacco epidemic and the preventable death and disease it causes.
The Southwest Utah Public Health Department supports this and ongoing efforts towards awareness of the risks of tobacco and decreasing its use.
Utah saw rates of smoking drop from 11.5 percent to 9.8 percent of the population this past year despite an estimated $57 million being spent on marketing by the tobacco industry here state in 2007. However, smoking rates in frontier areas, including those in Southern Utah's five-county district, are still twice the state average.
City leaders in Kanab, Utah recently addressed this issue by passing a no-tobacco ordinance on April 8. Rodeo journalist and health educator “Cowboy” Ted Hallisey worked with Jordan Mathis, health promotions director for the Health Department, to craft an ordinance that would also include smokeless tobacco, a unique addition among similar ordinances in Southern Utah.
Hallisey said: "I am very proud to be part of this comprehensive tobacco ordinance in my home town. I praise the Mayor and City Council of Kanab for their progressive approach to making spit tobacco as well as smoking off limits in city-owned property and mass gatherings of 50 or more people."
Mayor Kim Lawson said that "looking at our duty to protect the health and safety of our residents, it was an easy transition to make."
The first outdoor smoke-free ordinance in Southern Utah was passed by Santa Clara on May 10, 2007. Since then, the majority of cities in the five counties have joined this effort to make Southwest Utah a healthier place to live.
TheSpecrum.com