Alaska State Fair goes smoke free!

To the editor:

The American Lung Association applauds the Alaska State Fair: on Aug. 25, the Alaska State Fair officially becomes the first state fair in the nation to go entirely smokefree. This includes electronic nicotine devices and marijuana.

The decision to go smokefree wasn’t taken lightly. The Alaska State Fair Board of Directors made this decision after a trial run, with a hugely successful smokefree day at the 2015 Fair.

Eighty percent of Alaskans don’t smoke. And 96 percent of Alaskans believe everyone has the right to breathe clean air, according to a recent poll by the American Cancer Society. Smokefree environments protect nonsmokers from the dangerous health effects of secondhand smoke, support smokers that are trying to quit and help prevent kids from ever getting started.

I’ll see you at the 2016 smokefree Alaska State Fair!

Katie Pesznecker,

Chair, American Lung

Association in Alaska