By KEN de la BASTIDE
The number of adult smokers in Howard County is below the state average, according to recently released county health rankings done as part of a study by the University of Wisconsin.
The Howard County Tobacco Coalition said the report provides a great opportunity for the county to closely examine the role smoking plays in the health of the community.
The coalition wants to expand the current Kokomo ban to include all businesses and to extend it to the remainder of the county.
“We need to take more concrete steps to implement stronger smoking policies that will lower the county’s smoking rate in cities and towns,” the coalition said in a press release.
According to the study, Washington County has the highest percentage of adult smokers at an estimated 43 percent. As a whole, Howard County has an average of 23 percent adult smokers. The estimated average for Indiana is 26 percent.
The city of Kokomo several years ago approved an ordinance prohibiting smoking in public places with an exception for taverns.
Of the surrounding counties, Miami County had the highest percentage of adults that smoked at an estimated rate of 33 percent. A group in Miami County sought implementation of a smoking ban on a countywide basis but the measure was never voted on by the county commissioners.
A measure to ban smoking in all public places in Indiana failed to pass the 2010 session of the Indiana General Assembly.
The coalition wants to expand the Kokomo smoking ban to encompass all of Howard County.
“The Howard County Tobacco Coalition is committed to strengthen the local smoking ordinance to a county comprehensive smoke-free plan,” said Shirley Dubois, coordinator for the coalition.
She said the coalition is pushing to amend the current Kokomo ordinance to include all workplaces.
“We want every workplace to be smoke free to protect workers from second-hand smoke,” Dubois said. “We would like the county to pass a comprehensive smoking ban.”
Efforts to expand the smoking ban in Howard County were stalled by the effort to pass a statewide ban, she said. Dubois said Illinois, Michigan and Ohio all have comprehensive bans that prohibit smoking in all workplaces.
Dubois said 38 Indiana cities have smoking bans, but only 11 prohibit smoking in all workplaces.
Tipton County had the lowest estimated adult smokers in the region at 12 percent, which was the lowest in the state for the 81 Indiana counties (of 92) that statistical data was available for.
“The good news is that in Indiana and here in our community, we already have in place a wealth of resources to drive down smoking rates,” Dubois.
She said there are smoking cessation classes offered at Howard Regional Health System and St. Joseph Hospital or by calling 1-800-Quit-Now to register for help to stop smoking.
