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Hurray! Transit Board Approves Smoke-Free Transit Stops |
Public Health Advocates Laud MTS Leadership
The Tobacco-Free Communities Coalition (TFCC) lauded San Diego's Metropolitan Transit System (MTS) for its unanimous vote to make all transit and bus stops smoke-free, a first for Southern California.
"Congratulations and thanks go to MTS Board Member and San Diego County Supervisor Ron Roberts, who not only supported this giant step but also encouraged the California Air Resources Board to declare secondhand tobacco smoke a toxic air contaminant," said Debra Kelley, Vice President for Government relations at the American Lung Association of San Diego and Imperial Counties.
Health advocates credit a declaration of the Air Resources Board with spurring significant new tobacco control efforts by validating the science proving the danger of secondhand smoke.
"We are especially grateful that Supervisor Roberts offered to fund half
the cost of the new No Smoking signs that will be required," said Molly Bowman, Advocacy Director for the American Heart Association.
The move is a first for a transit system in Southern California. Several Northern California cities, including Berkeley, Palo Alto, and San Mateo, now enjoy smoke-free transit stops. The San Diego area Metropolitan Transit System is the largest public transit system to opt for smoke-free bus stops. The effective date of the new rule has not yet been announced.
Frequent transit rider Francis Mortyn spoke in support of the new policy. "Three or four times
each week I am compelled to stand up and walk away from the bus bench because they are
used as smoking zones. When the bus stops are free from cigarette smoke, and the waste products of cigarette smoking, they will be cleaner and healthier places."
The financial costs of tobacco are as devastating as the emotional and physical toll. In 1999, smoking cost San Diego County $1.2 billion in direct health care costs and lost productivity due to illness and premature death. That's $2,975 per smoker and $443 per resident.
The American Lung Association is part of the Tobacco-Free Communities Coalition (TFCC), which works in the San Diego region to reduce tobacco use and exposure to secondhand smoke among San Diego County children, youth, and adults. The TFCC is joined in these efforts by the Tobacco Control Coalition (TCC) and the Tobacco Control Resource Program (TCRP) of the County of San Diego Health & Human Services Agency. For more information see http://www.tobaccowatchdog.org/
Chuck Boles, a former Marine and employee of the U.S. State Department, retired in 1990. He put away his weapons and now spends four days a week reading stories, putting puzzles together and wiping runny noses.
Boles has been volunteering with the Little Angels Learning Center in Escondido since his wife kicked him out of the house, telling him to go do something useful. He landed where he feels most useful.
"The first few days, the children viewed me with some suspicion.not only was I an unknown adult, but a male one at that," says Boles, who has no grandchildren of his own. "Over time, they came to accept me and the results have been truly rewarding. Give me a smile, or a leg hug, and I'm good for another week. They are so innocent, so trusting, and often enough, need a hug of their own."
Even though the drive from his Rancho Penasquitos home can be challenging at times," he says, "I wouldn't miss this for the world. Once I get there, the rest is golden."
Boles and the Little Angels Learning Center participate in a program called First 5, where older adults help prepare children age 5 and younger for school. First 5 is one of the growing number of meaningful volunteer opportunities for seniors.
RSVP provides the following reasonsfor volunteering:
The County's Retired & Senior Volunteer Program (RSVP) is a great resource for identifying a retiree's volunteer desires and where to get those wishes met. Call (858) 505-6399. |
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