Russell County school board makes all campuses tobacco-free, but delays implementation for one year

The Russell County Board of Education has voted to make all the county’s school campuses tobacco-free a year from now, “After some
lengthy discussion by the board and visitors,” The Times Journal of Russell Springs reports. The vote was 4-0, with one member abstaining.

“During
the 2014-2015 school year the policy will be spent educating employees
and public and will go in to full effect with the 2015-2016 school year,” the newspaper reports. “The
new policy will replace the current policy, which does prohibit tobacco
use by students but allows tobacco use for employees and visitors at
designated places.” (Read more)

State health officials have said making school campuses tobacco-free would be an important step in discouraging smoking in Kentucky, which has the nation’s highest rates of smoking and lung cancer. Only about 35 of the 173 school districts in the state are tobacco-free.