By Lea Kahn, Staff Writer
It might soon be harder to catch a break – a cigarette break, that is., West Windsor Township Council is considering some changes to its tobacco use ordinance that would restrict the locations where cigarette smoking is allowed., Township Council, which doubles as the municipal Board of Health, reviewed a draft of the proposed changes presented by township Health Officer Jill Swanson Monday night., The proposed revisions, as outlined by Swanson, would create an absolute ban on smoking in all township parks. As it stands now, a smoker can light up a cigarette in a municipal park if he or she is at least 35 feet away from another person., Also, smoking a cigarette or tobacco product would not be permitted within 35 feet of any entrance to any municipal building. Currently, smoking is prohibited within 35 feet of the front entrance to the Municipal Building, but not the secondary or side entrances., Municipally owned or managed buildings include the Municipal Building, the Senior Citizens Center, the West Windsor Post Office and the Police Department/Municipal Court building, all of which are on the Municipal Complex at 271 Clarksville Road., The 35-foot rule would also apply to the township Department of Public Works facility, the West Windsor Arts Council building and the Emergency Services building, which are scattered around the township., Township Council was receptive to expanding the ban from the front entrance of the Municipal Building to all entrances of that building, but Councilwoman Linda Geevers sought to take it one step further by instituting a total ban on smoking on all municipal property., Geevers, who is a former school board member, pointed out that the West Windsor-Plainsboro Regional School District enacted a total ban on smoking on school property and on school trips., “There is nothing healthy about smoking or breathing in second-hand smoke,” Geevers said. Encouraging a healthy lifestyle means banning tobacco use, not restricting it, she said., Councilwoman Ayesha Hamilton questioned a total ban on smoking and its impact on township employees who are cigarette smokers. It could force them to walk out to Clarksville Road to smoke, she said., “I don’t know how you would account for a smoke break,” Hamilton said., When Hamilton said that “you can’t tell people what to do,” Geevers replied that the school district ban affects about 1,000 employees and the municipal ban would affect about 200 employees., “They changed,” Geevers said of the school district employees., Council President Peter Mendonez, who said he is a former cigarette smoker, favored the proposed changes. The 35-foot ban is “low-hanging fruit,” he said, adding that “I’m all for that.”, There was much less debate over the suggestion to ban smoking in all township parks., “I think absolutely we should do it,” Councilwoman Alison Miller said., But Councilman Hemant Marathe was indifferent to the proposed changes. He said he did see any issues with a 35-foot ban or a total ban on smoking., “When I see people smoking, I tell them not to do it. Life is too short to fight every person who smokes,” Marathe said., Township Council is expected to introduce revisions to the smoking regulations at a subsequent meeting.
