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Tobacco package manufacturer challenges PTC smoke ban

By JOHN MUNFORD
jmunford@thecitizennews.com

A Peachtree City company that manufactures packaging for tobacco products is opposing the city’s recently-enacted ban on indoor smoking.

The ban, which took effect Oct. 18, was worded to include all workplaces in addition to other privately-owned public areas such as restaurants.

The complaint from Alcan Packaging, a resident of the city’s industrial park, will be aired out at Thursday night’s City Council meeting.

In a Sept. 28 letter to Mayor Steve Brown, Alcan General Manager Ron Syrkos said smoking is permitted in a separate enclosed break room and in individual offices in the building.

The company’s production areas and public rooms are smoke-free, and employees have the choice of whether or not to enter and spend time in offices where smoking occurs, Syrkos said.

In a memo to council, City Manager Bernie McMullen said Alcan’s smoking room is completely enclosed and has a dedicated exhaust fan. He also noted the room capacity should be limited to 11 people based on the current mechanical specifications required by the city.

A test of the room showed that it maintained negative air pressure so smoke wouldn’t waft out when the door was opened, according to a letter from Tiernan and Patrylo Design Group.

“We are a responsible company and we resent that your Smoke-free Air Act suggests that we do not treat our employees safely and that we could subject them to second-hand smoke or that we do not provide smoke-free air to non-smokers and finally that we simply fail to recognize that the need to breathe smoke-free air does not have priority over the desire to smoke,” Syrkos said.

In a response to Syrkos’ letter, Brown noted that the council’s “primary focus was on public health and was in no way intended to denigrate those that smoke.”

“Your thoughts and views are always appreciated,” Brown wrote. “However, it appears unlikely that any member of the City Council would be willing to amend the current ordinance at this time.”

Since then, Councilman Steve Rapson asked city staff to meet with Syrkos and evaluate Alcan’s existing smoking room, and Councilwoman Judi-ann Rutherford asked for the item to be placed on Thursday’s council agenda.

Alcan Packaging employs 167 people with an average salary around $35,000 a year, Syrkos noted.

Brian Cardoza, president and CEO of the Fayette County Development Authority, intervened on Alcan’s behalf with an Oct. 27 letter to Brown asking if the smoking room would meet the city’s specifications and if not, to explain in writing why not.

“Lawson Mardon (Alcan’s prior corporate name) is a terrific corporate citizen and we value their investment in our community,” Cardoza wrote. “Each year, they contribute between $35,000 and $40,000 to Peachtree City, Fayette County and the state of Georgia. Because of this new law, Mr. Syrkos has pulled all sponsorships, including the Great Georgia Airshow, the YMCA, the local Ducks Unlimited Chapter and the Chamber of Commerce. He will no longer support any activity such as these. This is extremely unfortunate and I hope this will one day change.”

In his letter, Syrkos noted that his company agrees “with the overwhelming medical and scientific consensus that cigarette smoking causes lung cancer, emphysema and other serious diseases in smokers.”