Elected officials and advocates from the Mayfield City Council were awarded the Kentucky Center for Smoke-free Policy’s (KCSP) Smoke-free Indoor Air Endeavor Award at the University of Kentucky College of Nursing’s KCSP annual Spring Conference.  The event was held April 29 at the Doubletree Suites in Lexington.

Members of the Mayfield City Council were recognized for their leadership in promoting the health of the citizens in their communities by enacting partial smoke-free ordinances.

In addition to recognizing these elected officials, the KCSP 2014 David B. Stevens M.D. Smoke-free Advocate of the Year Award was awarded to Roger Cline Sr., American Cancer Society volunteer and smoke-free Kentucky advocate. The other nominees for this prestigious advocacy award included: Cynthia Brown, Bullitt County Health Department, and Carol Douglas, Barren River District Health Department).  The advocate of the year is recognized for excellence in promoting secondhand smoke education and smoke-free policy.

Two new awards were presented this year. The 2014 Brian Early Mattone, Esq. Legal Counsel Smoke-free Support Award recipient is the Tobacco Control Legal Consortium. The Tobacco Control Legal Consortium is a legal network for tobacco control policy that assists community leaders and public health organizations. They are housed in the William Mitchell College of Law’s Public Health Law Center in St. Paul, Minn.

Also, the first Lee T. Todd Jr. Smoke-free Hero Award recipient is the Bullitt County Board of Health. The Bullitt County Board of Health passed a comprehensive smoke-free regulation in their community and are defending their right to protect the health of their citizens through legal avenues.

In addition, Dr. David Stephens, the family of the late Brian Early Mattone, and Lee T. Todd were provided namesake awards in honor of their respective awards.

Thirty-nine Kentucky communities have enacted smoke-free ordinances or Board of Health regulations as of April 1, 2014, with 23 of those being comprehensive ordinances meaning that they cover all workplaces including restaurants and bars. This translates to 34.2 percent of Kentuckians being protected by comprehensive smoke-free workplace laws. For more information about smoke-free ordinances and regulations in Kentucky, visit the Kentucky Center for Smoke-free Policy at www.kcsp.uky.edu.