By Staff
Tuesday night the mayor and city council members from the city of Flomaton voted unanimously to adopt a tobacco ordinance that would protect all of its citizens from the health hazards caused from breathing second-hand smoke.
I would like to congratulate them for taking the responsibility to make this decision in the best interest of the community as a whole. Making their hometown smoke-free shows that they are concerned for the health of everyone who lives in, works in and visits their community.
Clean air policies encourage smokers to quit, non-smokers never to start and our children to stay away from tobacco. Everyone has the right to breathe fresh, clean, smoke-free air. Smoke-free laws do not take away the personal rights of smokers. We are asking them to take their recreational activities outside away from placing others in danger.
The members of the Coalition for a Healthier Escambia County, as well as the hundreds of citizens who signed a petition in favor of a clean air ordinance, are now ready for our elected officials in the cities of Brewton, Atmore and East Brewton to step forward and adopt an ordinance to protect the citizens who live in the rest of the country.
Again I would like to thank Mayor Bondurant and the city council members of Flomaton for their forward thinking and adding to the growing momentum that is happening across the country and around the world to protect all workers and customers from the serious health hazards of secondhand smoke.
Tina Findley, RN, tobacco prevention and control coordinator
Alabama Department of Public Health Area 9