Smoking ban takes effect at Misawa

  • Published
  • By Senior Airman Stefanie Torres
  • 35th Fighter Wing Public Affairs
MISAWA AIR BASE, Japan --  Misawa smokers will now have to brave the elements of nature for their nicotine fix effective May 1. 

A new policy from the 35th Fighter Wing commander states smoking is prohibited in or around tower housing and dormitories, leaving residents to go to designated smoking areas outside. 

The move to a smoke-free environment ensures compliance with Air Force Instruction 40-102, Tobacco Use in the Air Force. Areas inside buildings ... should remain smoke free to ensure a healthy and safe environment for all residents, the policy states. This also includes common-use area such as: restrooms, hallways, stairways, or offices. 

"This does not tell people that they can't smoke," said Lindsay Buckalew, 35th Fighter Wing exercise physiologist. "There are just more restrictions." 

This will ultimately benefit non-smoking residents during winter when windows are shut and smoke travels to common areas or the next room over, explained Robert Anderson, 35th Civil Engineer Squadron chief of unaccompanied housing on base. 

Removing residue smell from furniture inside the dorm rooms will also be a lot easier for the cleaning crews that come in after someone moves out, according to Mr. Anderson. 

"We normally can tell if there is a heavy smoker from the smell and residue that smoking leaves behind on furniture," he said. "So this plan should greatly improve the rooms," he said. 

The actual decision to ban smoking was brought to the table in early December, explained Mr. Buckalew. A town hall meeting in February gave a great amount of feedback to leadership and the smoking policy implementation timeline was actually changed that night. 

"It was quite an effective meeting," he said. "The people that showed up had their voices heard." 

However, one of the consequences of this new policy is the inconvenience of having to go outside to a designated smoking area in order to smoke. Depending on the residence, some personnel may have to travel further than others to light up. 

"Some people may take some of these restrictions in a negative way," said Mr. Buckalew. "However, this change isn't personal; this change is being done to actually help our military and our whole community live longer and healthier lives." 

"The good news is tobacco use is preventable and there is help for anyone out there who wants to change and quit," he added. 

The Health and Wellness Center offers a monthly 4-part tobacco cessation class series, quarterly night classes, and an online option to meet everyone's time needs. The classes once a week gives smokers a variety of topics to help them quit and the classes range from stress management, nicotine replacement therapies, diet and exercise, to a support group. 

"The online option is more time efficient in that it has accessible material and then the member only has to come in once for a pre-test and the one replacement therapy class," said Mr. Buckalew. 

For additional information about kicking the habit or for additional classes the HAWC has to offer, call 226-6653.