Published: March 21, 2008 10:34 am      

Students ask for smoke-free restaurants

By Sean Bailey / Staff Writer

More than 20 restaurants in the area will receive a total of 512 letters from Corbin Middle School students all requesting the same thing — that area restaurants reconsider their smoking policy.

Stacie Moses, youth service center coordinator at CMS, said the project is the result of a homeroom class that taught middle school students the dangers of tobacco use of all kinds, including second hand smoke.

Each student at the middle school wrote a letter to his or her favorite restaurant asking the restaurant to change its smoking policy so that non-smokers would be less affected by second hand smoke.

According to Moses, the most popular restaurants among the students were the more family oriented establishments like the Crackerbarrel and Mi Casa. Students requested that these restaurants have separate smoking areas that were clearly divided so that non-smokers can dine without smoke or that the restaurants ban smoking completely.

“Many of the students think that places should model their smoking section after Tuscany Gardens,” Moses said.

Moses said that the students had the biggest problems with the smaller establishments that allowed smoking.

“One of the biggest complaints that the students have is with the smallness of the Pizza Hut, and places like the Burger King,” Moses said.

Students are asking in their letters that smoking be abolished completely in these smaller establishments. According to Moses, many students felt people at Burger King intentionally went through the drive thru to avoid the smoke inside.

The students letters will also be accompanied by a letter from the school explaining the program.

Last February, the Corbin Community Coalition proposed a smoking ban for city restaurants in a letter to Mayor Willard McBurney. The city commission never took action on the proposal.