By Dave Evensen, The Republic Reporter
Third in a four-part series
Interest in tobacco-cessation classes has remained steady after a boom in enrollment in 2004 when Columbus officials first proposed a smoking ordinance.
With Wednesday’s ordinance deadline looming, more businesses are playing a role in signing up employees. Several companies recently opted to pay for on-site cessation classes.
Individual cessation classes, which saw a jump in attendance after the ordinance was proposed, still are popular, according to coordinators.
Columbus Tobacco Cessation Program, which runs cessation classes for businesses and individuals, said four large businesses have recently begun or will start classes. One, ArvinMeritor, has enough demand among employees to support two classes.
At least three other businesses have expressed interest in the classes, according to the program.
Cessation coordinators said they are busy finding ways to juggle all the new business demand, which they credit to the ordinance.
“This is very unusual to see this amount of interest all at once (for the business classes),” said Caroline Martinez, community tobacco cessation coordinator. “It’s definitely because of the ordinance.”
Columbus Tobacco Cessation is conducted through a collaboration of Columbus Regional Hospital Foundation, Wellness Program, Healthy Communities and state money from Indiana Tobacco Prevention and Cessation Agency.
Individual classes are conducted at Columbus Regional Hospital.
Coordinators also charge class fees to cover costs. Businesses pay $240 for six sessions, plus $10 per participant. Individuals pay $20 for the course.
The ordinance applies to most public places, such as restaurants and stores, but also to employee-only facilities, such as factories.
Impact Forge, which until now has allowed smoking, said it is offering incentives for its employees to take a five-week cessation class at the business.
“With the new ordinance coming out, we wanted to help in any way we can to help our employees kick the habit,” said Gary Starewicz, Impact Forge’s director of human resources.
The employees are paying a portion of the class cost, he said, but Impact Forge is providing free tobacco patches. The company also will reimburse the class cost if employees complete the course and stay smoke-free for six months.
As of Monday, Starewicz said, only five employees had signed up for the class. They hope for more, but in the meantime the company is building shelters outside for smokers who can no longer smoke in the break room.
“I think companies would really have a tough time (with employees) if we (went smoke-free) on our own” and not under the ordinance, he added.
Individual classes
Terrill Paradise, smoking-cessation coordinator at Columbus Tobacco Cessation, recalled a huge increase in class enrollment when Columbus first began debating a smoking ordinance.
This January, he still sees a healthy enrollment of 17 students in each of his two classes, though only two or three in each said they came because of the smoking ordinance. Most the others attributed New Year’s resolutions.
“I do think (our cessation classes) have become more visible” because of the ordinance debate, Paradise added. He also attributed the ordinance for lower dropout rates in the classes.
Paradise noted that support for Columbus’ ordinance is generally strong in each class. When debate was raging, he said, occasionally the topic would arise among the students.
Whenever someone spoke out against it, half the class would say the city needs it, Paradise said.
“We had some interesting moments,” he said.