Petition to make indoor public places smoke-free approved for circulation

The Smoke-Free North Dakota committee’s petition to make all indoor public places and places of employment smoke-free was approved by the North Dakota secretary of state on Friday, after undergoing some minor changes. Now, the Smoke-Free North Dakota committee will begin collecting the 13,452 signatures necessary to get the initiated measure on the November ballot.

“We’re excited to be through the approval process so we can start collecting signatures right away,” said Chelsey Matter, chairperson for the Smoke-Free North Dakota committee. “We’re hoping to have well over the required number of signatures before August.”

Matter said she is optimistic about the number of signatures the group will collect because of statewide support for a smoke-free law.

“A 2010 study of North Dakota residents showed that 72.5 percent of respondents would support a law that eliminates all tobacco smoke from indoor workplaces, including bars. We are trying to follow the will of the people,” Matter said.

This weekend, the committee and other volunteers plan to be at the McQuade’s Softball Tournament in Bismarck, the Upper Missouri Valley Fair in Williston, Roughrider Days Fair in Dickinson, and the Medora Classic and Antique Car Show, in addition to several county fairs and festivals across the state.

“We will be all over the state to collect as many signatures as possible,” Matter said.

A full list of events where people can sign the initiated measure petition can be found by visiting the Smoke-Free North Dakota committee’s Facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/#!/SmokeFreeND.

Tags: smoke free, smoke free law, news, updates, tobacco, nonsmoking, health, state, nd