Communities Honored for Smoke-Free Policies

LEXINGTON, Ky. (March 24, 2011) − Elected officials and local advocates from the 2010 Campbell County Fiscal Court and the city of Bowling Green will be awarded the Kentucky Center for Smoke-free Policy's (KCSP) 2011 Smoke-free Indoor Air Excellence Award at the annual Spring Conference hosted by the University of Kentucky College of Nursing's KCSP on March 24 at Griffin Gate Marriott Resort during the conference luncheon from noon to 1 p.m. In addition, Kenton County Fiscal Court and the city of Oak Grove will be awarded the KCSP 2011 Smoke-free Indoor Air Endeavor Award.

These Kentucky communities were selected for their exceptional leadership and collaborative efforts in promoting the health of the citizens in their communities by enacting/adopting smoke-free ordinances or regulations.

The Kentucky Center for Smoke-free Policy sponsors the annual conference to educate health advocates on the latest research on secondhand smoke and smoke-free policies. Elected officials from these communities have been invited to attend the conference.

In addition to these community awards, the first KCSP 2011 David B. Stevens, M.D., Smoke-free Advocate of the Year Award will be announced. The nominees for this advocacy award include: Carol Douglas, Barren River District Health Department; Susan Liford, Knox County Health Department; Rita Miracle, Knox County Health Department; Dr. Al Perkins, pathologist, Lake Cumberland Regional Hospital; Smoke-free Pulaski County; and Dr. Melissa Walton-Shirley, cardiologist, of Glasgow with the Barren/Hart/Metcalfe KY-ASAP Tobacco Task Force. The advocate of the year will be recognized for excellence in promoting secondhand smoke education and smoke-free policy.

Carl Fox, co-owner of The Crazy Fox Saloon in Newport, will be the luncheon speaker. Fox will talk about the duty of government to protect employee health and safety through requiring smoke-free workplaces. “Smoke-free is not about banning or shaming smokers, but about moving their activity to a safer location for our employees’ health and that of our non-smoking customers,” said Fox.

As of March 1, 2011, smoke-free ordinances or Board of Health regulations had been implemented in 28 communities, and 17 of those are comprehensive, covering all workplaces including restaurants and bars. Overall, nearly one-third of Kentuckians are protected by comprehensive smoke-free workplace laws. For more information about smoke-free ordinances and regulations in Kentucky, visit the Kentucky Center for Smoke-free Policy at www.kcsp.uky.edu.