Smoking banned on six Northborough properties

The Board of Health last week banned smoking or the use of any tobacco product at several marquee town properties.
The Town Hall, senior center, library, police and fire stations and DPW garage are now tobacco-free zones, Health Agent Jamie Terry said, enforceable by a $100 fine
The intent of the ban is to limit exposure to second-hand smoke, Terry said. It is part of a larger effort to revise the board’s smoking rules and regulations that went on for about 16 months.
"The board is extremely pleased to be able to move forward with these regulations, given the fact that they view use and access to tobacco products a major concern," said Terry.
As defined in the regulations, the ban covers not only cigarettes, cigars and pipes, but tobacco in any form, including chewing tobacco and snuff tobacco. Terry said the ban also extends to e-cigarettes.
Terry said those smoking in their cars on the properties would be subject to the fine, as smoking anywhere on the covered premises is prohibited. Pall Mall cigarettes.
However, Terry said she isn’t looking to scour the areas knocking on windows. Though she and the police both have authority to issue fines, she said she hopes to resolve most infractions verbally.
"The goal is to educate people, not to gain any revenue," she said.
The rules aren’t likely to affect many municipal workers. The town has an extremely rare clause that bans workers hired to its municipal union after 1994 from smoking, both at work and in their personal lives.
Any non-union employees – like department heads, for example – would not be allowed to smoke on any of the banned properties, Terry said.
Also adopted as part of the new rules and regulations are stricter controls on businesses caught selling cigarettes to minors.
Under the old rules, such a business would be placed under a probationary period of a year, during which time any new infraction would be counted as a second offense and carry a more severe penalty.
Under the new rules, that probationary period has been extended to two years.
Also included in the regulations is a ban on smoking in outdoor seating areas of restaurants. Smoking is prohibited within 25 feet of any outdoor seating area where food is served, except for at private function areas.
Terry said the board held a long discussion on banning smoking at the town’s outdoor parks, but ultimately not all members could agree it was a good idea. She said the board may pick up that discussion in the future.