Myrtle Beach Area Group Calls For Smoke-Free City
A local group is fighting for the right to breathe smoke-free air in Horry County, and on Tuesday they cited statistics that seem to be on their side.
Ninety-five percent of 874 residents surveyed in Horry County said they believe secondhand smoke causes health problems, according to a survey conducted by Smoke Free Horry, a nonprofit organization that hopes to curb the toll of tobacco use.
Research done in area bars and restaurants found pollution 22 times higher in those that allow smoking than in those that don't, the study conducted jointly by Roswell Park Cancer Center in New York and Smoke Free Horry found.
"It's our vision that every citizen and worker in Horry has the right to breathe smoke-free air," said George DuRant, spokesman for Smoke Free Horry. "Everyone deserves to breathe smoke-free air."
The group, which is funded by a federal grant, began in late summer 2010 with three goals: protect citizens from secondhand smoke dangers; reduce tobacco use among adults and youth; and prevent children from starting to use tobacco products.
There's still a long road ahead, however, filled with challenges, organizers said.
Though many areas still allow smoking, some have banned the habit both indoors and outside, whether through corporate regulations or personal choice. DuRant wants visitors in Horry to see aprogressive county that prohibits lighting up a cigarette.
"The last thing we want people to think when they come to Myrtle Beach is behind, backward and not progressive," he said.
The town of Surfside Beach and the town of Atlantic Beach are the only municipalities in the county that have passed a smoking ban. A countywide ban is not on the radar for Horry County Council, said Chairman Tom Rice. If it were introduced, Rice said he would not support it. –Read more at Sun News
A local group is fighting for the right to breathe smoke-free air in Horry County, and on Tuesday they cited statistics that seem to be on their side.
Ninety-five percent of 874 residents surveyed in Horry County said they believe secondhand smoke causes health problems, according to a survey conducted by Smoke Free Horry, a nonprofit organization that hopes to curb the toll of tobacco use.
Research done in area bars and restaurants found pollution 22 times higher in those that allow smoking than in those that don't, the study conducted jointly by Roswell Park Cancer Center in New York and Smoke Free Horry found.
"It's our vision that every citizen and worker in Horry has the right to breathe smoke-free air," said George DuRant, spokesman for Smoke Free Horry. "Everyone deserves to breathe smoke-free air."
The group, which is funded by a federal grant, began in late summer 2010 with three goals: protect citizens from secondhand smoke dangers; reduce tobacco use among adults and youth; and prevent children from starting to use tobacco products.
There's still a long road ahead, however, filled with challenges, organizers said.
Though many areas still allow smoking, some have banned the habit both indoors and outside, whether through corporate regulations or personal choice. DuRant wants visitors in Horry to see aprogressive county that prohibits lighting up a cigarette.
"The last thing we want people to think when they come to Myrtle Beach is behind, backward and not progressive," he said.
The town of Surfside Beach and the town of Atlantic Beach are the only municipalities in the county that have passed a smoking ban. A countywide ban is not on the radar for Horry County Council, said Chairman Tom Rice. If it were introduced, Rice said he would not support it. –Read more at Sun News
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