Smoking is now prohibited on the grounds at the Southeast Alaska State Fair for all events.
The fair’s board of directors made the change effective April 15. It’s intended to protect the health of workers and visitors, to reduce fire risk and to fix a former policy that was difficult to enforce, said Amanda Randles, the fair’s assistant director.
Smokers can use a designated area in the Harriett Hall parking lot this summer until the fair, when the designated area will move outside the fair gates to the fair parking lot’s east side. Smoking also will be prohibited inside gates at this weekend’s beer festival.
The policy moves the fair’s smoking areas to at least 40 feet from gates and doorways.
Designated smoking areas previously attempted weren’t observed, Randles said. “As an outdoor venue, people would just walk around and they didn’t think they had to go to a designated place. There were plenty of people who were smoking all over the place. That’s something we’re trying to fix here.”
Smoking also posed a fire threat to the fairgrounds’ wood-chip walkways and to Dalton City buildings, Randles said.
The Alaska State Fair in Palmer made a similar change two years ago.
To help promote the newspolicy, the National Council on Alcoholism and Drug Dependence will act as a fair sponsor, including providing signage, promotional materials and information on quitting.
“It’s not really a huge change… People will follow the rules if you make it clear for them, but you have to make it clear for them,” Randles said.
Smoker Brian Clay this week said the decision amounted to overreach. Clay said previous signage for designated smoking areas on the fairgrounds was inadequate. “I can understand not smoking inside buildings, but now people will just walk out of sight to smoke.”