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<br /> - 1 -. <br />Lexington Board of Health, February 8, 2006 - Meeting Minutes <br />Police Station Guard Room, 1575 Massachusetts Avenue, Lexington, MA <br /> <br /> <br />: <br />Attendees Wendy Heiger-Bernays, Judith Feldman, Burt Perlmutter, <br />Sharon MacKenzie, Deborah Thompson <br /> <br />Health Dept.: Derek Fullerton, Susie Moser, Ann Belliveau <br /> <br />Public: Diana Bartenstein, John Bartenstein <br />MAHB: Cheryl Sbarra <br /> <br />Heiger-Bernays called the meeting to order at 7:05 pm. There was no public <br />participation. <br /> <br />Heiger-Bernays introduced & welcomed the new Public Health Nurse, Susie Moser and <br />asked her to tell the group about her background. <br /> <br />Minutes of January 2006: <br /> <br />Heiger-Bernays asked the Board to review the minutes of the January 11, 2006 meeting. <br />Perlmutter motioned to approve the minutes as amended. MacKenzie seconded. All <br />approved. <br /> <br />Heiger-Bernays recommended discussing the issue of teenage smoking before discussing <br />the January data reports. Heiger-Bernays said the Board received a letter from Diana <br />Bartenstein with concerns about teenage smoking (letter attached). Heiger-Bernays said <br />in order to address this in its most complete form, she asked Ms. Cheryl Sbarra to attend <br />this meeting to discuss the status of regulations related to teenage smoking in <br />Massachusetts. Ms. Sbarra J.D. is the attorney for the Massachusetts Association for <br />Health Boards and is well versed in this area. Heiger-Bernays asked Diana Bartenstein <br />who attends the Windsor School in Cambridge, MA and resides at 46 Sanderson Road, <br />Lexington to present her ideas. Ms. Bartenstein informed the Board of a school project <br />called Take a Stand and her passion to reduce teenage smoking. Bartenstein’s research <br />found that Attleboro had passed laws and fined students who were caught possessing and <br />smoking tobacco. In Attleboro, the Health Director said that teachers were allowed to <br />give out the fines as well as the town officials. <br /> <br />Cheryl Sbarra stated that she is the senior staff attorney for the MAHB and she directs the <br />tobacco control and prevention program. Sbarra indicated that right now we have a State <br />Law which is the smoke-free workplace law is in effect which prohibits smoking in all <br />enclosed workplaces including schools. Prior to this law which is currently in effect, <br />there was the Education Reform Act which prohibited smoking in all schools and on all <br />public school grounds, and at school sponsored events, etc. Sbarra said the Education <br />Reform Act was not being enforced and both students and staff were smoking on school <br />property. Several local Boards of Health then passed regulations with an enforcement <br />mechanism for students, staff and visitors. This occurred in several cities and towns such <br />as Attleboro and Amesbury. Tickets would be written and the individuals would go <br />through the court system and many times they would be offered cessessation programs. <br />Sbarra indicated this required a lot of resources and over time, the resources dried up and <br />no one was able to do the ticketing and enforcing on school property. There is always a <br /> <br />