Largo favors tobacco-free workplace

Largo City commissioners are leaning toward establishing a tobacco-free workplace, but they stopped short of favoring a ban on smoking in parks and other city facilities

At their Feb. 15 work session, most commissioners also were opposed to adopting a tobacco-free hiring policy, but said they could support giving a preference to applicants who didn’t use tobacco products.

They also said they could support putting signs near playgrounds encouraging people not to smoke in such areas.

Over the past several months, commissioners have considered a tobacco-free hiring policy.

In 2010, the catalyst for this discussion was the city’s insurance premium renewal, said city Human Resources Director Susan Sinz.

“What happened in 20l0 was our hearts all stopped because we had some really bad experiences for about 12 to 18 months, and some considerable catastrophic claims,” she said.

That prompted city officials to look at their health plan to determine what they could do to control costs.

Under a tobacco-free workplace policy, the city would prohibit its employees from smoking during the workday, other than at lunch. Employees would not be allowed to smoke at city facilities, such as the recreation centers and public works buildings. Members of the public would be allowed to smoke in designated smoking areas.

Commissioner Curtis Holmes expressed concerns about the tobacco-free hiring proposal, saying that it “brings out the libertarian in me.”