Next year all bars and casinos in Montana have to be smoke-free, but the owners of some Missoula establishments are glad for the change.
The Montana Legislature passed the measure in their 2005 session and have set a date of October 1, 2009 for all bars and casinos to make the change.
Officials with the Missoula City County Health Department told us that Missoula is among the first cities, with the most bars, to make the change early, and many they have spoke to about the new order are very happy with it.
"Actually all of the bars and casinos that I've talked to say their business has increased they're grateful and glad they went smoke-free so its neat that its on such a large scale environment and also with personal choice" said the health department's Erica Rollins.
While the no smoking implementation will go into effect next year, Missoula City-County Health Department officials believe that many bars and casinos around the state will try their best to fight the ban because they're afraid they will lose business.
(from November 28, 2008)
On the third Thursday of November every year, health officials nationwide encourage smokers to quit, if even for a day.
It's called the Great American Smoke-Out and it began back in 1976. Tobacco Free Missoula County, a division of the Health Department, spent today informing smokers and enticing the cause with a free sandwich from Subway.
Tobacco educators, like Erica Rollins, tell us the Missoula public is proud of to be a part of the event and today many people stopped by to share their story.
"It's been neat," Rollins said. "We've had people who have come by and said, 'I quit ten years ago,' 'oh, I just quit a year' or 'I have been quitting for a year,' so it's neat to see how good that makes someone feel."
The Missoula County Health Department said smoking is the number one cause of lung cancer, so they hope events like the Great American Smoke-Out will help educate people about the dangers of tobacco related use.
