Recognizing the effect tobacco has on the health of its employees and the community, the Miller County Board of Commissioners has adopted an ordinance prohibiting tobacco use in all buildings and property owned and in use by the county.
Commission Chairman Barbie Womble said the group decided on the Tobacco Free Ordinance for several reasons. “We wanted to promote healthy behaviors among our employees and the citizens of Miller County, and to also increase productivity among our employees,” she said.
Womble said it is the County Commission’s hope that the city will follow suit in passing a tobacco-free ordinance. In the past four years, Miller County showed a death rate from lung cancer 138% higher than the state average.
The ordinance, which went into effect December 1, restricts all tobacco use – smoking and smokeless - in any county buildings, on grounds, and in transportation vehicles owned or leased by Miller County.
“I’m very proud of the Commission for moving the county in the direction of a healthier community,” said Alida Ward, County Nurse Manager for Early and Miller counties. “It is very notable that the commissioners have taken this step.”
According to the ordinance, the Commission also supports employees who want to quit the use of tobacco products, and encourages them to talk to their health care provider about quitting, noting that the county’s health insurance plan accepts appropriate cessation treatment aids when sought from a health care provider.
The new county ordinance follows the Miller County School System’s adoption earlier this year of a 100% Tobacco Free Schools policy, and the concerted effort of members of the community involved in the Miller County Tobacco Coalition. Tobacco Coalition efforts are being funded with a $50,000 grant to the Southwest Georgia Cancer Coalition from the Georgia Department of Community Health, and are specifically focused to reduce tobacco-related health disparities in Miller County.
According to Denise Ballard, Vice President of Cancer Prevention and Control with the Southwest Georgia Cancer Coalition, priority audiences for tobacco prevention and cessation efforts are youth, men and pregnant women. These audiences were identified in a community-wide assessment conducted by Mercer University School of Medicine as having the highest smoking rates in Miller County.
Over the next year, the Tobacco Coalition will host a youth summit, conduct educational workshops, encourage enforcement of laws that restrict the sale of tobacco to minors, and offer smoking cessation classes for those who want to quit.