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10/15/2019 12:00 AMA proposed policy update related to smoking and vaping for town employees on town property has sparked a broader discussion about tobacco policies in Guilford.
Human Resources Director Mitch Goldblatt presented the update to the town’s employee smoking policy at a Board of Selectmen (BOS) meeting on Oct. 7. Though the BOS ended up tabling the discussion without taking any action, First Selectman Matt Hoey told the Courier there was room for further exploration in the matter, which would first involve engaging the public.
Under the draft policy, employees would be disallowed from smoking in town vehicles and also would have to be 10 feet away from municipal structures when smoking. Currently smoking is not prohibited in town vehicles, and though state law bans smoking inside all municipal buildings, there are no other town-dictated smoking restrictions on public property in Guilford, Hoey said.
Selectman Sandra Ruoff pointed out at the meeting that some language in the policy indicated visitors to town buildings would be subject to the new restrictions as well, adding some confusion about who would be affected.
Goldblatt told the Courier a number of employees had raised concerns about shared town vehicles in which some drivers smoke. Another concern had been codifying vaping as part of all tobacco and smoking laws, after someone had been caught vaping in a community center bathroom.
Though state law explicitly prohibits vaping in any location where smoking is also banned, Goldblatt said some supervisors thought it would be prudent to add the language to Guilford’s policies as well.
The larger concern was smoking in town vehicles, Goldblatt said. Multiple employees expressed discomfort at being in a car or truck while another employee smoked, or having to spend time in a vehicle that smelled like smoke.
Connecticut prohibits smoking in all state-owned vehicles, but Guilford currently has no policy for its own vehicles.
Goldblatt said the new policy was drawn up with input from the town Labor Council and Employee Safety Committee, and added other general updates to a policy that he described as very antiquated.
Ruoff and others at the Oct. 7 BOS meeting wondered if the town might go further and ban smoking by anyone on town properties, something Hoey cautioned would most likely require an ordinance.
Even adding a complete ban for employees on town property would be problematic. At the meeting, Goldblatt said such a policy would be impossible to enforce, and also that some employees “may not be able to continue working” for the town if smoking were entirely disallowed on town premises.
Goldblatt told the Courier that he was specifically concerned about police dispatchers and firefighters who work extremely long shifts and do not have the ability to leave town property for a smoke break.
Most of the selectmen at the meeting spoke about either making the policy stronger, or considering adding more smoking and vaping restrictions that might even include the public.
Hoey emphasized to the Courier that there would not be substantial discussions without public input, but that the BOS certainly might consider restrictions up to and including the banning of smoking and vaping on public property within certain distances of any building, a policy he said other towns and even whole states have adopted in recent years.