Monroe Schools Expel Tobacco

The Monroe School Board voted unanimously Nov. 8 to institute a 24/7 tobacco-free policy on the school campus, Monroe Superintendent Karen LaRosa said Thursday.
The school district joins other LeFlore County school districts that have opted for the round-the-clock policy, said Tobacco-free LeFlore County Coordinator Benjamin “B.J.” Barnes. Current Oklahoma state law only mandates that schools be tobacco-free from 7 a.m. to 4 p.m., Mondays through Fridays, Barnes said.
“It’s about the importance of role models. We have extracurricular activities, and we would like it off-campus,” LaRosa said.
Monroe’s new policy, like those at Spiro, Howe, Poteau, Shady Point and Talihina public schools, prohibits the use of all tobacco products on district-owned property 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year, Barnes said.
“A goal of our coalition is to see all 17 LeFlore County school districts adopt a 24/7 Tobacco-free School Policy in an effort to give students the clear message that tobacco use is hazardous to their health,” Barnes has said.
LaRosa said tobacco is a gateway drug.
Barnes said National Institute on Drug Abuse statistics say that 22.3 percent of eighth-graders had already tried smoking.
“Mainly it is important for the kids to see the banners daily, and to see we’re promoting that (tobacco-free),” LaRosa said.
Getting parents to comply has not been an issue, she said. The school has had about three home games since the policy went into effect, and the parents who previously would step outside the gym to smoke now voluntarily move off campus. LaRosa said she’s considering creating a small smoking area with benches off campus for those adults.
The more schools in LeFlore County that join the effort, the better it will be, LaRosa said. The message will be reinforced as students, staff and parents visit other campuses for school-related activities, she said.
Tobacco-free LeFlore County is a grantee of the Oklahoma Tobacco Settlement Endowment Trust, and is a program of the LeFlore County Coalition for Healthy Living and LeFlore County Youth Services. According to the announcement, the organization works with schools, municipalities and businesses to decrease tobacco use in LeFlore County. Now in its second year, it is funded by a $125,000 grant from the Oklahoma Tobacco Settlement Endowment Trust.
According to information posted on the coalition’s Facebook page, each year an estimated 5,400 Oklahoma children become new daily smokers.
The coalition states that tobacco kills more Oklahomans than does alcohol, auto accidents, AIDS, murders and illegal drugs combined.
The kindergarten through 12th grade public schools aren’t the only educational institutions eyeing smoke-free campuses in LeFlore County. Businesses such as LeFlore County Youth Services have also adopted tobacco-free policies, Barnes said.
And in January, citing health reasons, Carl Albert State College Student Government Association officers approached CASC regents with their desire to take the campus smoke-free as of January 2012. The students said smoking is Oklahoma’s leading cause of preventable death, costing more than 6,000 lives and almost $2.9 billion each year.
In March, the regents asked CASC’s student association to poll faculty and staff on the issue.
Barnes said Tobacco-free LeFlore County plans to work, too, with municipalities to pass ordinances mirroring the Oklahoma Clean Indoor Air Act and Youth Access to Tobacco Act. It would also like to see tobacco-free parks, he said.