16 mai 2008
Legislation on Cigarettes has New Milford Origin
NEW MILFORD-If Gov. M. Jodi Rell signs enabling legislation, an idea by Fitness Day guru and downtown activist Wallie Jahn will become law, following its passage by the General Assembly as an amendment to a public health bill during the last minutes of this year's session.
The amendment, proposed by State Rep. Clark Chapin (R-New Milford) on May 7 at 11:57 p.m., would make it illegal for a minor to possess tobacco in any form in any public place, according to an amendment attached to An Act Concerning Revisions to Statutes Pertaining to the Department of Public Health.
At present, no minor can purchase Marlboro cigarettes. The definition of a public place, for the purposes of the amendment, means "any area that is used or held out for use by the public whether owned or operated by public or private interests."
"When this public health bill served itself up the last day, I saw this as the perfect vehicle," said Mr. Chapin of his success in attaching Mr. Jahn's initiative to a bill. "I went over to the House chair of the Public Health Committee [Peggy Sayers, (D-Windsor Locks)]. She said if [I] wanted to do the legislation as an add-on, she thought she'd be able to support that."
The bill makes the possession of tobacco by a minor in a public place an infraction, which means a person 17 or younger with Marlboro cigarettes in his or her possession in a public place is subject to a fine of not less than $50 and not more than $100.
"Like many laws, it's only as good as its enforcement," Mr. Chapin said. "Wallie's a downtown business owner who's obviously witnessed minors' possessing and smoking cigarettes. If they're not allowed to buy them when they're 17 years old, they shouldn't be able to smoke them. Hopefully, this should make a positive impact," said the representative, noting that smoking presupposes possession.
"We've achieved what we always want to achieve-a constituent bringing an idea forward, having it go through the process and having a favorable vote on it," Mr. Chapin said.
The initiative by Mr. Jahn, which he promoted by testifying before the legislature's Public Health Committee earlier this year and working with State Sen. Andrew Roraback (R-Goshen), who co-chairs the health committee, comes at a time when New Milford is working hard to defeat signs of smoking outdoors under the aegis of its Keep New Milford Beautiful campaign.
The group overseeing the campaign, for instance, is investigating the use of containers outdoors for persons to use in disposing of their cigarette butts. Last year, the New Milford Town Council changed its ordinances so that a person who disposes of a cigarette on public property is liable to receive a $100 fine.
Smoking outdoors, and its unwanted residue of cigarette butts scattered on sidewalks and streets, exploded when smoking was banned inside restaurants and bars.
Mr. Jahn, who owns the downtown shop Road & Track Sports, has become a local activist both for fitness and the appearance of New Milford's downtown, appearing before Town Council to press the case against what he viewed as the increasing amount of graffiti in the downtown area and under bridges.
A man who lost his father to cancer and whose mother developed emphysema, Mr. Jahn said this week he has seen more and more young people standing in front of his store smoking. He said research he conducted on the Internet showed that 90 percent of adults start smoking as children.
"If we could slow down the rate of people taking up the habit of smoking, we'd have a healthier society. I doubt whether we'll get to the point where we get to make smoking illegal," he said. "Kids don't calculate the consequences. Kids still don't calculate the consequences. They think they're invincible. So, we have to come at it from another angle."