Ponchatoula Passes Comprehensive Smokefree Ordinance

Ponchatoula, La. – February 12, 2019 –The Louisiana Campaign for Tobacco-Free Living (TFL) and members of the Coalition for a Tobacco Free Louisiana (CTFLA) applaud and thank the members of the Ponchatoula City Council for their vote this week in favor of protecting the health of Ponchatoula residents and employees by making all indoor public facilities, including bars and gaming establishments, smoke-free.

The smoke-free measure, voted on and passed by the Ponchatoula City Council on February 11, will ensure all residents and employees (including bartenders, gaming establishment employees and entertainers) will be protected from the dangerous health effects of secondhand smoke in workplaces, restaurants, banks, healthcare facilities, hotel/motel lobbies, stores, laundromats, reception areas/waiting rooms, and educational facilities. When the ordinance goes into effect on May 12, Ponchatoula will join Hammond and Roseland, making it the third smoke-free municipality in Tangipahoa Parish. Currently, St. Tammany Parish has zero smoke-free municipalities and Washington Parish has one, Bogalusa.

“We are excited for the addition of Ponchatoula as a smoke-free city,” said Jamie Cyrprian, TFL Regional Manager. “Recent health reports have shown that Louisiana has much work to do in regards to smoking, but with the addition of Ponchatoula as a smoke-free municipality, Tangipahoa Parish has shown its commitment to the health of its citizens.”

When the ordinance goes into effect, Ponchatoula will become the 19th municipality to protect its residents from secondhand smoke, covering almost 22 percent of Louisiana’s population and over one million individual Louisianans.

For more information on the growing movement to protect all Louisiana employees from secondhand smoke, visit www.HealthierAirForAll.org.

The Louisiana Campaign for Tobacco-Free Living (TFL)
The Louisiana Campaign for Tobacco-Free Living (TFL) engages in local and statewide tobacco control policy efforts that focus on tobacco prevention and initiation among youth, eliminate exposure to secondhand smoke, promote cessation services, and identify and eliminate tobacco-related disparities. TFL is guided by best practices in tobacco control, and envisions a healthier Louisiana by reducing the excessive burden of tobacco use on all Louisianans. For more information visit www.tobaccofreeliving.org. To find out more about the dangers of secondhand smoke and show your support for a smoke-free Louisiana, visit www.healthierairforall.org. To learn more about quitting tobacco, visit www.quitwithusla.org.

About the Louisiana Cancer Research Consortium (LCRC)
Founded by the Louisiana State Legislature in 2002, the LCRC is a public-private partnership designed to promote education about cancer and conduct important research on the diagnosis, detection, treatment, and prevention of cancer in Louisiana. The LCRC partners with the public at large and four major cancer research institutions in Louisiana: LSU Health, Tulane University, Ochsner Health System, and Xavier University. More information about the LCRC is available at www.louisianacancercenter.org.

About the Louisiana Public Health Institute (LPHI)
LPHI, founded in 1997, is a statewide 501(c)(3) nonprofit and public health institute that translates evidence into strategy to optimize health ecosystems. Our work focuses on uncovering complementary connections across sectors to combine the social, economic, and human capital needed to align action for health. We champion health for people, within systems, and throughout communities because we envision a world where everyone has the opportunity to be healthy. For more information, visit www.lphi.org.

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