Guest Editorial | Congrats, Homewood, for clearing the air

Guest Editorial By Mark E. Wilson

The city of Homewood is already known as a good place to live, work and visit, and it just got better. 

Homewood recently joined five other Jefferson County municipalities (Birmingham, Clay, Fultondale, Midfield and Vestavia Hills) in adopting strong smoke-free protections that minimize exposure to secondhand smoke and its negative health consequences. Notable improvements over the previous ordinance include smoke-free public patios, a 20-foot smoke-free zone from doors and open windows of public places, and the incorporation of electronic cigarettes into the ordinance.

Homewood hotels are also going 100 percent smoke-free, so there will no longer be smoking rooms. This is important, because even with segregation of smoking rooms into certain floors or sections of a building, spread of toxins from tobacco smoke to other areas cannot be completely prevented. Perhaps more importantly, hotel workers will now be protected from secondhand and “third-hand” smoke (residual toxins emitted from carpets, furniture, fabrics, etc.). 

Electronic cigarettes and “vaping” are admittedly controversial, and some smokers report using them as a way to get off cigarettes, but there are good reasons for including these in the smoke-free ordinance. The first reason is to avoid encouraging young people to initiate use of these products, or seeing their use in public places as a social norm to be imitated. E-cigarettes are available in several flavors that entice children. Nicotine is a highly addictive substance, regardless of the form it is in, and National Youth Tobacco Survey data show e-cigarette use among youth is on the rise. Electronic cigarette use among teens is associated with a higher likelihood of using regular tobacco. The second reason is that the aerosol emitted from e-cigarettes is not harmless; it contains a variety of toxic chemicals, including nicotine and some carcinogens and that can be inhaled secondhand.

Some may ask, “Won’t this ordinance hurt businesses?” Based on the experience of the city of Birmingham and countless other cities across the country, smoke-free ordinances on the whole have not harmed business revenues, including those of bars and hotels, and in some cases have been associated with an increase in revenues. A nine-state study that included data from 216 smoke-free cities and counties, published in the CDC’s journal Preventing Chronic Disease in 2013, suggested that smoke-free laws did not have an adverse economic impact on restaurants or bars in any of the states studied. Alabama was one of the states in this study. 

Finally, we in public health, along with our partners who advocate for smoke-free policies, are not against people who do smoke. We recognize a lot of people know they need to quit and want to quit but have a difficult time kicking the habit. The Alabama Tobacco Quitline, at 1-800-QUIT-NOW (784-8669) or online at QuitNowAlabama.com, provides free assistance from trained smoking cessation counselors for any Alabamian who is ready to quit.

Congratulations to Homewood for this big win for the public’s health and for business and overall quality of life, and for helping Jefferson County move closer toward the goal of being 100 percent protected by strong smoke-free ordinances. It would be great if the Alabama Legislature could go ahead and propel us forward by passing a comprehensive smoke-free law for the entire state.

Mark E. Wilson, MD, is the Jefferson County Health Officer and Chief Executive of the Jefferson County Department of Health.