The Town of Cheneyville passes a 100% smoke-free workplace policy, effective June 8, 2014.
FACTS AND INFORMATION ABOUT THE TOWN OF CHENEYVILLE
THE PASSAGE OF A LOCAL POLICY IN THE TOWN OF CHENEYVILLE, EFFECTIVE JUNE 8, 2014, TO MAKE ALL WORKPLACES SMOKE-FREE, REPRESENTS ANOTHER EXCITING TURNING POINT FOR PUBLIC HEALTH IN LOUISIANA.
The Smoke-Free Ordinance will prohibit smoking in all public places and places of employment including future bars and gaming facilities. The ordinance not only applies to the use of tobacco cigarettes, but also prohibits the use of e-cigarettes in smoke-free areas.
Thanks to local policymakers’ for their support in response to citizens who want and deserve cleaner, healthier, smoke-free air, we will all breathe a little easier this summer and beyond! When The Louisiana Smoke-Free Air Act (Act 815) passed in 2006, it eliminated smoking in restaurants and most public places, but exempted bars and gaming facilities. It also gave local governments the ability to enact stronger local smoke-free policies. The Town of Cheneyville has now joined other Louisiana municipalities and national leaders in an effort to protect all from the dangers of secondhand
smoke.
The Town of Cheneyville is the sixth municipality in Louisiana to adopt a 100% local smoke-free ordinance, supporting a Louisiana trend led by Alexandria, which unanimously passed the first in October 2011. In January 2014, Monroe, West Monroe and Ouachita Parish implemented a 100% smoke-free policy. Under Act 211, all public universities statewide are required to develop smoke-free campus policies by August 2014. Louisiana state and local policymakers are beginning to "Join the Movement" to make Louisiana "Healthier for All." Policymakers in Cheneyville can now proudly stand beside them!
The Town of Cheneyville Ordinance eliminates smoking in all public places and places of employment, including but not limited to:
- Future bars and Gaming facilities
- Retail tobacco businesses
- 20 feet outside all building entrances, operable windows, and ventilation systems for all enclosed smoke-free areas.
- Outdoor places of employment where two or more employees are required to be in the course of their employment. This includes, without limitation, work areas, construction sites, temporary offices, restrooms and vehicles.
- All outdoor arenas, stadiums and amphitheaters and within 20 feet of bleachers and grandstands for use by spectators at sporting and other public events.
- In and within 20 feet of all outdoor playgrounds
- In and within 20 feet of all outdoor public transportation stations, platforms and shelters
- Outdoor common areas of multiple-unit residential facilities, except in designated smoking areas (areas which are not to exceed 25% of the total outdoor common area and are located at least 20 feet outside entrances, operable windows and ventilation systems of enclosed areas).
- Within 20 feet of the point of service in all outdoor service lines in which service is obtained by persons in vehicles (this applies to both pedestrians and persons in vehicles).
The ordinance also prohibits the use of e-cigarettes in all smoke-free areas.
HOW TO COMPLY
No Smoking Signs or the international No Smoking Symbol must be clearly and conspicuously posted at every entrance and within all workplaces. Ashtrays must be removed where smoking is prohibited, except for ashtrays displayed for sale and not for use on the premises. Employers must also clearly and conspicuously post signs on every vehicle that constitutes a place of employment, visible from the exterior of the vehicle, stating that smoking is prohibited. Penalties may be cited by any Town of Cheneyville law enforcement officer and by code enforcement officials while an establishment is undergoing otherwise mandated inspections.
An owner, manager, operator or employee of a smoke-free area shall direct a person who is smoking within the area to extinguish the product being smoked. If the person does not stop smoking, the owner, manager, operator or employee shall refuse service and immediately ask the person to leave the premises. If the person in violation refuses to leave, the owner, manager, operator or employee shall contact a law enforcement agency.
Non-Compliance
A person who smokes in an area where smoking is prohibited by this ordinance shall be guilty of a misdemeanor, punishable by a fine not exceeding $100 for a first violation, a fine not exceeding $250 for a second violation within one year of the first, and a fine not exceeding $500 for each additional violation within one year.
A person who owns, manages, operates or otherwise controls a public place or place of employment and who fails to comply with the provisions of this ordinance shall be guilty of a misdemeanor, punishable by a fine not exceeding $100 for the first violation, a fine not exceeding $250 for a second violation within one year of the first, and a fine not exceeding $500 for each additional violation within one year. In addition to the fines established by this ordinance, violations of this section by a person who owns, manages, operates, or otherwise controls a public place or place of employment may result in the suspension or revocation of any permit or license issued to the person for the premises on which the violation occurred. Each day on which a violation of this section occurs shall be considered a separate and distinct violation.
The Louisiana Tobacco Quitline
The Tobacco Quitline at 1-800-QUIT-NOW provides free and con?dential advice and support to Louisiana residents, ages 13 and older, who are ready to quit smoking. Certi?ed counseling is available in English and Spanish, 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, to help callers kick the habit and improve the quality of their lives. For more information about cessation services offered by The Louisiana Campaign for Tobacco-Free Living (TFL) and its partners, visit www.quitwithusla.org or www.tobaccofreeliving.org.
The Smoking Cessation Trust
If you are a Louisiana Resident who started smoking cigarettes before September 1, 1988, Smoking Cessation Trust offers FREE medications, group and individual counseling, and quit line coaching to help you quit for good. Call 504.529.5665 or 855.259.6346 or enroll online at www.smokingcessationtrust.org.
Please contact jgilchrist@lphi.org if you have any additional questions or need more information.
