WILLMAR - Starting this week, smokers in Kandiyohi County will have to stand at least 25 feet away from business and workplace entrances if they want to smoke outdoors.
Electronic cigarettes will be prohibited in the same public places where conventional smoking is prohibited.
Retail tobacco outlets in Kandiyohi County also must end the practice of sampling.
The rules went into effect Jan. 1 as part of a new countywide smoke-free ordinance adopted late last year by the County Board of Commissioners. The ordinance places Kandiyohi County among a growing number of Minnesota cities and counties with similar regulation on tobacco use in public places.
As businesses gear up to comply, the county's public health staff is working to get out the word.
ADVERTISEMENT
Letters are arriving this week at local businesses, explaining the ordinance and urging compliance. The letters are accompanied by free window clings that business owners can post to remind their customers and employees of the new 25-foot smoke-free zone.
So far, the public health department has heard very few questions or concerns, said Ann Stehn, director of Kandiyohi County Health and Human Services.
Based on feedback after the introduction of the ordinance, many businesses were in favor of it, she said. "I've heard a number of people are very much in support."
Development of a countywide smoke-free ordinance had been underway for many months.
Much of the ordinance mirrors the Minnesota Clean Indoor Air Act of the 1970s, which regulates indoor smoking in public places, and the Freedom to Breathe amendments of 2007, which established further restrictions aimed at limiting people's exposure to secondhand smoke in public places.
Kandiyohi County's new smoke-free ordinance goes a few steps further, however, by requiring a smoke-free zone at business and workplace entries and by ending the exclusion in state statute that allowed sampling at retail tobacco stores.
The ordinance also adds electronic cigarettes to the definition of smoking, in effect regulating e-cigarettes the same as conventional cigarettes.
County officials said they want to continue making progress toward a healthier Kandiyohi County by reducing the public's exposure to secondhand smoke and reducing youth exposure both to e-cigarettes and conventional tobacco products.
ADVERTISEMENT
"It's changing public norms," Stehn said. "We're doing this for health reasons. We want to have a healthy environment for people."
The biggest impact is likely to be the 25-foot smoke-free zone at business and workplace entrances, she said.
"We're really working to give people a way to get in and out of businesses without having to go through tobacco smoke. ... We're just trying to move (smokers) away from doorways," she said.
The 25-foot restriction also applies to windows and air intakes.
Signs and visual reminders will be important in getting people to comply, Stehn said. "People need to change habits," she said.
County officials do not expect much difficulty with enforcement. A number of Kandiyohi County businesses already have made their entire campus smoke-free and/or added e-cigarettes to their own tobacco policies, Stehn noted.
Public support for smoke-free policies also tends to reduce the need for enforcement, she said. "Oftentimes all it takes is some public awareness," she said.
The most vocal opposition to the new ordinance came at a public hearing in November from a group of retailers who objected to no longer allowing indoor tobacco sampling. County health officials say the number of Kandiyohi County retailers directly affected by this provision is relatively small, though.
ADVERTISEMENT
Public service announcements are being planned for the near future to continue to spread the word about the new ordinance. For business owners who want more window cling signs, extras are available free of charge from Kandiyohi County Public Health at the Health and Human Services Building. The ordinance, along with a summary of the key points, also can be found on the county's website, www.co.kandiyohi.mn.us .
Tobacco regulation and prevention have helped bring tobacco use in Minnesota to a historic low. Public health advocates believe efforts must be ongoing, however, and point to a rising use of e-cigarettes among youths as a troubling sign for the next generation.
With policy enactment, Kandiyohi County can help maintain progress in the right direction, Stehn said. "We wanted to ensure that our policies fully encompass that," she said.
