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Glens Falls Post Star, Published: Wednesday, June 11, 2008
By NICK REISMAN
reisman@poststar.com

Ban will limit smoking to outdoor areas at fair

EASTON -- The air at the Washington County Fair will be a little clearer this August after officials banned smoking in the grandstands.

The ban will limit smoking to outdoor areas at the fairgrounds, including the parking lot. Smokers are already prohibited from smoking inside tents, said the fair's general manager, Mark St. Jacques.

"It just respects the folks that are sitting there," St. Jacques said of the ban. "We'd make it more of an enjoyable atmosphere for everyone."

St. Jacques said the fair's board of directors approved the ban after some fair patrons complained about excessive smoke near children. The ban will cut down on secondhand smoke and litter, he said.

St. Jacques said signs will be posted at the fairgrounds notifying smokers.

"They'll be asked nicely to please not smoke," he said.

The ban comes after the New York State Fair issued a similar prohibition on smoking.

"We're following the suit of what a lot of other fairs have done," St. Jacques said. "We've never sold tobacco products."

The Warren County Youth Fair will be completely "tobacco-free" this year, said John Bowe of the Warren County Cornell Cooperative Extension.

"Not only is smoking banned, but so is (tobacco) chew," Bowe said. "Obviously, we can't tell people not to smoke on public property, but we're trying to encourage healthy choices."

Smokers are allowed to light up at the Saratoga County Fair in Ballston Spa, but only in open-air areas, said Dick Rowland, the fair's general manager.

Rowland said the grandstands are covered, so smoking is already prohibited there. That policy was in place before the state issued indoor smoking bans, he said.

"We have cigarette urns around the grounds so people can properly dispose of them," he said.

Fair employees are also discouraged from smoking while they work, Rowland said.

Anti-smoking advocates are happy with the bans.

"I think more and more outdoor places are going smoke-free because of obvious health benefits," said Jen Sheerer, program coordinator for the Southern Adirondack Tobacco Free Coalition in Saratoga Springs. "It's a family establishment. It's a great example for the kids to sit around and not have to watch people smoke."

Prohibitions on smoking and tobacco use in public places is on the rise, Sheerer said.

For more information, please call 581-1230 or visit www.tobaccofreeadirondacks.org