Bristol Hospital recently made a formal request to have a city road that runs through its grounds declared a no-smoking zone.
Hospital President Kurt Barwis asked the city to have Newell Road – the primary entrance for its emergency room, medical office building and Connecticut Spine and Pain Center – designated as smoke-free under a new law Bristol passed last summer.
Barwis said that having the street made into a no-smoking zone would be “the last step in allowing us to change over the entire hospital campus as smoke-free,” a move it began in 2008.
City officials said they plan to ask the Hearings and Assessment Committee to look into the request and make a recommendation to the City Council. Little opposition is expected.
The city’s new ordinance, which hasn’t been used yet, allows it to designate public streets and sidewalks as no-smoking zones, except where state law dictates otherwise.
The law was passed to accommodate the hospital, officials said. They said they’re skeptical anyone else will follow suit with a request soon.
Barwis said the point of going smoke-free at the hospital is to “enhance the overall environment of Bristol Hospital” and to “protect and improve the health” of its workers and patients.
A hearing on the issue will likely be scheduled within a month or two, officials said, and a council decision is likely as early as January 12, though it may well take longer
*******
Copyright 2009. All rights reserved.
Contact Steve Collins at scollins@bristolpress.com
Showing posts with label smoking. Show all posts
Showing posts with label smoking. Show all posts
June 11, 2009
No smoking zones coming to Bristol
The passage of a new law that allows the city to designate public streets and sidewalks as no-smoking zones clears the way for Bristol Hospital to push for a smoking ban along the municipal roads bordering its property.
Though the new ordinance approved unanimously by the City Council recently opens the door for smoke-free zones, officials say it’s likely they won’t see too many requests to impose the bans.
Bristol Hospital has led the charge on the issue because it wants to keep smoking away from its doors.
With no power to prevent people from lighting up on the city sidewalks just outside, the hospital’s executives said they were stymied unless the city made it possible to ban smoking there.
Marc Edelman, the hospital’s vice president of operations, said that establishing a smoke-free zone around the hospital would safeguard the health and well-being of its staff, patients and visitors.
City Councilor Craig Minor said that before an area can be designated as a smoke-free zone, the council would need to agree to send the request to the hearings and assessment committee that would review the pros and cons.
If the hearings panel recommended the creation of a smoke-free zone, Minor said, the council would again consider the issue, this time to back the decision or turn it down.
City Councilor Frank Nicastro said the hospital would be able to follow the necessary procedure to get what it wants.
But officials admit that it would take unusual dedication for smaller operations or individuals to seek similar designations for public byways bordering their property.
It’s possible that parks or schools might follow the hospital’s lead in a bid to keep smoking away, officials said.
The smoking ban that’s on the table includes language to ensure that Bristol doesn’t impose prohibitions in areas that state law specifically allows smoking, such as outside some restaurants.
Copyright 2009. All rights reserved.
Contact Steve Collins at scollins@bristolpress.com
November 20, 2008
City may enact wide smoking ban
Reporter Jackie Majerus wrote this story:
While Bristol Hospital is asking for a municipal ban on smoking on Newell Road, city councilors supportive of the law may take it a step farther and make breathing easier in other publicly owned spaces, too.
Councilor Craig Minor, who chairs the ordinance committee, said he would like for the city to adopt a new law that would allow city councilors to ban smoking in public areas owned by the city.
It takes three or four months to pass an ordinance, said Minor, if things are moving quickly. He said that if the city agreed to ban smoking on Newell Road to accommodate the hospital, it may get more requests for similar action in other areas.
"There are other places in town where smoking is allowed that people are unhappy about," said Minor, who said he's sometimes had to walk through a cloud of smoke to enter the library.
So Minor proposed a law that would allow the Bristol City Council to be able to declare a smoke-free zone on city-owned property where it saw fit.
Other members of the ordinance committee favor it, said Minor, and they've asked Corporation Counsel Dale Clift to write a draft law to show city councilors when they meet on December 11.
There could be a public hearing on the issue late in January, said Minor, at an ordinance committee meeting, with possible adoption by the council in February.
School grounds, the library property, city parks and City Hall property are all possible places where smoking could be banned, said Minor.
Bristol Hospital President Kurt Barwis got the ball rolling when he asked Mayor Art Ward if the city would ban smoking on Newell Road, a short street that dissects hospital property and runs all the way to the hospital's emergency entrance.
Barwis said he once saw city fire trucks racing to the hospital because a smoker deposited a still-burning cigarette into a trash can on the way into the hospital and set it on fire.
That careless act cost not only the time and energy of the emergency responders, but Barwis said people who were trying to enter the hospital were delayed by the commotion.
"It really struck me how wrong it was," said Barwis.
Beyond the ordinance committee, the idea has support.
Ward, who said he marks 12 years as smoke-free next month after breaking a nicotine habit of more than two packs of cigarettes a day, said he "absolutely supports" the city banning smoking from some municipally-owned areas.
"I think they're going to take a look at the city as a whole," Ward said. He said he's especially keen on eliminating the cloud of smoke where children are present.
"It speaks volumes about the city's commitment to youth," said Ward. "We set the example by our actions rather than our words."
City Councilor Ken Cockayne said he is "absolutely" and "100 percent" in favor of the idea of banning smoking on Newell Road.
"I think it's a great idea," said Cockayne, who said he does not smoke now and never has.
State law already prohibits smoking in restaurants and bars in Connecticut as well as public buildings.
*******
Copyright 2008. All rights reserved.
Contact Steve Collins at scollins@bristolpress.com
While Bristol Hospital is asking for a municipal ban on smoking on Newell Road, city councilors supportive of the law may take it a step farther and make breathing easier in other publicly owned spaces, too.
Councilor Craig Minor, who chairs the ordinance committee, said he would like for the city to adopt a new law that would allow city councilors to ban smoking in public areas owned by the city.
It takes three or four months to pass an ordinance, said Minor, if things are moving quickly. He said that if the city agreed to ban smoking on Newell Road to accommodate the hospital, it may get more requests for similar action in other areas.
"There are other places in town where smoking is allowed that people are unhappy about," said Minor, who said he's sometimes had to walk through a cloud of smoke to enter the library.
So Minor proposed a law that would allow the Bristol City Council to be able to declare a smoke-free zone on city-owned property where it saw fit.
Other members of the ordinance committee favor it, said Minor, and they've asked Corporation Counsel Dale Clift to write a draft law to show city councilors when they meet on December 11.
There could be a public hearing on the issue late in January, said Minor, at an ordinance committee meeting, with possible adoption by the council in February.
School grounds, the library property, city parks and City Hall property are all possible places where smoking could be banned, said Minor.
Bristol Hospital President Kurt Barwis got the ball rolling when he asked Mayor Art Ward if the city would ban smoking on Newell Road, a short street that dissects hospital property and runs all the way to the hospital's emergency entrance.
Barwis said he once saw city fire trucks racing to the hospital because a smoker deposited a still-burning cigarette into a trash can on the way into the hospital and set it on fire.
That careless act cost not only the time and energy of the emergency responders, but Barwis said people who were trying to enter the hospital were delayed by the commotion.
"It really struck me how wrong it was," said Barwis.
Beyond the ordinance committee, the idea has support.
Ward, who said he marks 12 years as smoke-free next month after breaking a nicotine habit of more than two packs of cigarettes a day, said he "absolutely supports" the city banning smoking from some municipally-owned areas.
"I think they're going to take a look at the city as a whole," Ward said. He said he's especially keen on eliminating the cloud of smoke where children are present.
"It speaks volumes about the city's commitment to youth," said Ward. "We set the example by our actions rather than our words."
City Councilor Ken Cockayne said he is "absolutely" and "100 percent" in favor of the idea of banning smoking on Newell Road.
"I think it's a great idea," said Cockayne, who said he does not smoke now and never has.
State law already prohibits smoking in restaurants and bars in Connecticut as well as public buildings.
*******
Copyright 2008. All rights reserved.
Contact Steve Collins at scollins@bristolpress.com
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)