Stillwater Update
New report prompts smoking ban
November 16, 2006
Starting today, 12 buildings in Stillwater will prohibit smoking on their property. The decision is likely in response to the surgeon general’s latest report on the dangers of secondhand smoke.
The YMCA, the Warren Clinic and Stillwater Medical Center are some of the buildings involved in the new ban. At the center, smokers, while not allowed to smoke inside, still had designated smoking areas before the new regulations. Now such areas do not exist, and people must completely leave the premises to light up.
Wait a minute — completely? Yes, because a parking lot is considered part of a building’s premises.
Picture people smoking cigarettes in their cars with the windows rolled down a little because they were banned from smoking inside a building. What happens if they are caught? Will someone charge them with smoking? Will the smoking police issue them a ticket?
A scenario in which someone receives a fine for smoking seems somewhat farfetched. If such a ban is to work, plans must be in place to make sure people obey the new rules.
Enforcement will certainly be the key to a successful ban. After all, there’s no point in having a rule if nobody’s going to enforce it.
Hopefully those responsible for the new regulations have laid out a plan of action for those in violation of the ban.
