PITTSBORO — Chatham County government has begun the process of changing a current administrative policy banning tobacco use on county property to an official government ordinance.
The Chatham County Board of Commissioners scheduled a public hearing for its November 18 meeting to get citizen input on the potential ordinance, which has been a county policy since March 2016.
The plan was presented by county Public Health Director Layton Long and Health Promotion Coordinator Anna Stormzand. Long said making the rule an official ordinance would be a “policy-level intervention” and a “good example for the kids.”
“We’ve seen tobacco use in terms of combustible tobacco become socially acceptable,” he said. “It is a socially-accepted endeavor, and they will carry that into adulthood. We’re moving backwards at a rapid pace.”
Stormzand spoke to the board about the rise of e-cigarettes — which would be included in the ban — and the negative health effects. She said 1,500 U.S. residents have been hospitalized with vaping-related illnesses and 33 have died.
The 2018 Chatham County Community Assessment reported that 22.4 percent of Chatham County public and charter high schoolers surveyed said they had used an electronic vapor product within the last 30 days. Stormzand said last week that e-cigarette use by North Carolina high school students increased by 894 percent from 2011 to 2017.
“We are worried about an entire new generation being addicted to nicotine,” she said.
The sample county ordinance would not include public places, Long said, but would incorporate parks and government buildings, which are currently under the administrative policy. The ordinance, Stormzand added, would have the two-fold effect of hopefully cutting down on secondhand smoke on county property, but set a better example for the youth.
“We care about this not only from youth standpoint but user and bystander,” she said. “It supports those who want to quit and have quit, but it also supports the notion that youth are not seeing that behavior.”
The Town of Siler City adopted a similar policy at its September 3 town commissioners meeting, extending its previous ban on smoking tobacco in municipal buildings and vehicles to include parks and all Town property. The Town of Pittsboro does not have a mention of tobacco in its Code of Ordinances.
Reporter Zachary Horner can be reached at zhorner@chathamnr.com or on Twitter at @ZachHornerCNR.