After 20 years, Montana celebrates Clean Indoor Air Act
Cory Reeves
For two decades, this important piece of bipartisan legislation has protected the health of Montana workers and community members in our public indoor spaces, including all workplaces, bars, casinos and restaurants.
As stated in Montana law, the purpose of the CIAA is to:
Protect the public health and welfare by prohibiting smoking in public places and places of employment;
Recognize the right of nonsmokers to breathe smoke-free air; and
Recognize that the need to breathe smoke-free air has priority over the desire to smoke.
Those of us who remember visiting places where smoking was allowed – even those with ineffective “smoking sections” – remember contending with secondhand tobacco smoke permeating our airspace, settling in our lungs, its scent lingering in our clothes and hair.
We’ve come a long way, and our health, and our children’s health, is better for it. There’s no safe level of secondhand tobacco smoke, which increases the risk for heart disease, stroke, lung disease and cancer, as well as for Sudden Infant Death Syndrome, respiratory and ear infections, and asthma attacks.
Yet, in recent years, a gap in our clean air protections became apparent: It didn’t include vapes (e-cigarettes). Vapes surely would’ve been included in the CIAA if they’d been on the market at the time of its passage, but they only emerged later.
Several cities and counties took action to close this gap by passing ordinances to include vapes in their local clean air protections. As mayor of Great Falls, I was supportive of taking this step in my own community. Numerous citizens and health advocates here felt the same way. Yet, this past legislative session, decision-makers at the state level did the job for us, by adding vapes to the CIAA. Like the original CIAA, this measure was supported by members of both political parties.
This was not just a policy or law update; it was a step forward for the health and well-being of our youth, families, and future generations.
Secondhand vape, just like secondhand smoke from cigarettes or cigars, has no place in our public indoor spaces. Vape isn’t harmless water vapor, but includes toxic chemicals linked to cancer; heavy metals such as nickel, tin, and lead; and tiny particles that can be inhaled deep into the lungs. Including vape into the CIAA protects Montanans’ freedom to breathe clean, healthy air.
This update to the CIAA also sends the message to our kids that no type of smoking is safe or acceptable in our public spaces. This is important: Along with serving as mayor, I work in Great Falls’ public schools and I see daily the impact of tobacco addiction, including addiction to vape, on our kids.
So, yes, we have a lot to celebrate here in Montana, and a lot to be thankful for, including decision-makers and health advocates who care about our health, our kids, and doing the right thing.
Congratulations on 20 years of progress, and thank you for continuing to lead the way in building a healthier Montana for all of us, especially for our youth.
Cory Reeves is the mayor of Great Falls, a retired undersheriff, and the liaison for the Great Falls Public School Restart program.