Members of the Healthy Wrangell Coalition met Tuesday and decided to support a law being concocted in the state legislature which would make all workplaces completely smoke-free. Coalition members will show their support by sending petitions signed by local groups to Alaska Smokefree Workplaces, a group lobbying for the law.
Advocates of the law are concerned that secondhand smoke undermines the health of coworkers and visitors alike and that current restrictions are not broad enough to address this pressing public health concern.
Alaska Statute 18.35.300 currently governs the state's public smoking policy, and while some areas are mandatorily smoke-free, there are a number of exemptions. Individual communities such as Valdez, Juneau and Petersburg have enacted their own smoke-free workplace ordinances, but the state department of labor estimates about half of Alaska's population is still not protected by such laws.
Petitions are currently being circulated and collected by Elizabeth Brummett, a behavioral health specialist and program coordinator with Alaska Island Community Services.
“For the last two years, the legislature has been working on a smoke-free workplace law,” she said. “We want to just keep that momentum going.”
So far Brummett has collected the signatures of 10 other businesses, groups and agencies. She said copies of the petition are available at her office at 333 Church Street.
Started in 2008, the Healthy Wrangell Coalition is an interagency consortium of health officials, clergy, educators and other public service groups dedicated to promoting the health and well-being of the borough's residents.
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