From Hyde County

 

TRU (Tobacco.Reality.Unfiltered.) Youth Club members from Mattamuskeet Early College High School (MECHS) thanked the Hyde County Commissioners during their October meeting.  Patricia Harrison and Jazmin Adame presented Board Chairman Barry Swindell with a certificate of recognition for passing a resolution last spring that protects employees and residents from exposure to secondhand smoke by making county grounds smoke-free, 25-feet from county buildings and preventing the use of vapor products.

Hyde County Health Director, Wes Smith, reminds us that the U.S. Surgeon General has stated that there is no risk-free level of exposure to secondhand smoke.  “Twenty-five feet away from buildings is a good way to prevent exposure to second hand smoke in doorways and ventilation systems,” commented Smith, “This is a good resolution and follows other successful policies in Hyde County such as no tobacco use on Hyde County school campuses.”

The TRU Club at MECHS is an active group of youth that currently meet weekly.  This school year, they have assembled and distributed QUIT kits to help people stop smoking, presented to the Hyde County Commissioners and offered an educational elementary school presentation to celebrate Red Ribbon Week that promotes tobacco free living.