SANTA ANA : School Board Adopts Smoking Prohibition
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Smoking will be prohibited starting next year on all property belonging to the Santa Ana Unified School District, under a rule adopted by the Board of Trustees this week.
The board approved the ban on a 3-2 vote, with trustees Robert W. Balen, Sal Mendoza and Audrey Yamagata-Noji supporting it and Rosemarie Avila and Richard C. Hernandez opposing the ban.
Under the plan, the use of all tobacco products will be prohibited in all district buildings with closed ventilation systems beginning Sept. 1. Effective Jan. 1, tobacco will be banned from all district property and all events sponsored by the district.
In light of the Environmental Protection Agency’s recent move to classify secondhand smoke as a carcinogen, an employee committee recommended that the board adopt the smoking ban, said Don Champlin, assistant superintendent for personnel services.
“We feel that to protect the health of all employees, it’s appropriate not to allow the use of tobacco in the district’s facilities or buildings,” he said. “And since we needed to do it anyway, we felt it was better to do sooner than later.”
Avila and Hernandez opposed the ban on philosophical grounds, saying the prohibition restricted people’s freedom.
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