Handsel Art

PRESS RELEASE

Date:15 September 2007

For Immediate Release

Contact: J.R. Few at

(870) 427-1365 or email

handselart@marioncounty.com

New Guidelines for Clean Indoor Air

Pictured from left is Julie Burnett, Program Coordinator for the Newton County Tobacco Education Group, Hollie Teague, Program Coordinator for Tobacco Free Boone County, and Teresa Bullock, NW Regional Manager of the Division of Health’s Environmental Health Branch.

Northwest Arkansas’ Tobacco Prevention and Cessation Branch grantees and advocates met in Russellville September 12th to review new enforcement protocols for the Arkansas Clean Indoor Air Act. The law went into effect in July of 2006 but has not been aggressively enforced during an educational period. On August 6 the Environmental Health Branch implemented new criteria for investigating non-compliance after only one report. An unannounced follow up visit will occur within 30 days of the first visit.

Any citizen can report non compliance on line at www.ArCleanAir.com or by calling 1-800-235-0002. Ms. Bullock stressed that reports need to be as complete as possible to verify infractions of the law. She added, “What they (smokers) need to remember is that if you’re smoking inside you can be fined up to a thousand dollars per violation in addition to the business or employer allowing them to smoke.”

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