Kenai Peninsula Fair goes smoke-free

In an effort to promote a healthy lifestyle, the Kenai Peninsula Fair is going smoke-free.
The fair, which opened Friday and continues through Sunday in Ninilchik, will only provide a designated smoking area near the rodeo grounds and in the beer garden, the Peninsula Clarion reported

The regional fair's move comes two years after the Alaska State Fair in Palmer went smoke-free.
Kenai Peninsula Fair Manager Lara McGinnis said the move to a smoke-free fair accomplishes three goals. It affirms a family-friendly atmosphere, reduces the potential for children to associate smoking with a healthy lifestyle, and protects fair workers and attendees from smoking and tobacco related litter and pollution, she said in a statement.
"Eighty percent of our litter patrol is done by 4-H youth and it is not fair to ask them to pick up cigarette butts dropped on the ground by irresponsible smokers. It's just not in line with our mission statement and the message we want to give our youth," she said.
Bright banners announcing the smoking ban will adorn both entrances to the fair, as will metal signs posted throughout the fairgrounds.
"We want the public to go there knowing what's going on," said Jenny Olendorff, program coordinator with Peninsula Smoke-free Partnership.