With other communities considering smoking ordinances, Teton County Tobacco Prevention wants to ride the momentum and start gauging if Jackson is ready to go smoke-free.

Starting Jan. 1, Teton County Tobacco Prevention will launch a media campaign educating people about the risks of secondhand smoke exposure, program manager Julia Heemstra said. Newspaper and radio advertisements will highlight the health risks of tobacco, Heemstra said.

The educational month will be a good chance to see if there is opposition to Jackson going smoke-free and where it comes from, though Heemstra said she thinks the community is open to the idea. With towns such as Laramie and Cheyenne already being smoke-free, and Evanston and Lovell considering ordinances, the time is right for Jackson to think about following suit, the group says.

Heemstra, as a state employee, will not be pushing for an ordinance, but she will continue to provide education on the health risks tobacco creates, she said. Her educational efforts will pave the way for the coalition, a group of community members, to start a campaign a few months later.

There is no time line set for the coalition’s goal of getting Jackson smoke-free. Ideally, an ordinance would be presented in May, Heemstra said.