First Flight High School

First Flight High School Peer Power students and the Touch No Tobacco "TNT"program recognize Western Sizzlin in Kill Devil Hills for going smoke free with a smoke-free certificate of appreciation and signage. From left to right: Kristin Powers, Josh Poznanski, Casey Land. Shirley Corren, Sales Associate, Jay Saunders, General Manager and Julia Martin.

Due to "popular demand" by loyal customers, the Western Sizzlin restaurant in Kill Devil Hills went smoke-free. "This decision was made based on popular demand", states Jay Saunders, General Manager of the Western Sizzlin. They may have gone smoke-free on September 1st, but Sauders says they gave their customers and employees a one months notice to allow for people to prepare for this change. This must have been a successful approach, as Saunders notes, "We have had no complaints by customers". The Western Sizzlin opened in Kill Devil Hills 22-years ago and Shirley Corren has worked there for twenty-one of those years. "If they had gone smoke-free the day after I started working here, that would have been fine with me," commented long-time employee Corren.

Julia Martin and Kristin Powers place a smoke-free decal at the entry to Western Sizzlin to notify patrons they are smoke-free.

The Peer Power Students from First Flight High School, along with the Touch No Tobacco "TNT" program, visited the restaurant to thank Saunders in person for making this important health decision and presented him with a smoke-free certificate of appreciation, signed by Anne Thomas, Director for the Dare County Department of Public Health. "This is a family restaurant and protecting young children from second hand smoke is very important," remarks Thomas, "we are very pleased that Western Sizzlin along with many other restaurants and businesses in Dare County are creating smoke free policies for the health benefits of everyone."

TNT is the tobacco education and prevention program for the Northeastern North Carolina Partnership for Public Health (NENCPPH) and the North Carolina Institute for Public Health. The NENCPPH consists of 12 local health departments that serve a 19-county area in northeastern North Carolina. The Partnership maximizes the available resources and service potential of local health departments through cooperation with each other on public health issues.

Peer Power is a peer health educator program provided by the Dare County Department of Public Health in partnership with the Dare County School System with funding from the Health and Wellness Trust Fund (HWTF).

The NC Health and Wellness Trust Fund makes North Carolina stronger, both physically and economically, by funding programs that promote preventive health. Created by the General Assembly in 2000 to allocate a portion of North Carolina's share of the national tobacco settlement, HWTF has invested $199 million to support preventive health initiatives and $102 million to fund prescription drug assistance programs. For more information, please visit www.HealthWellNC.com <http://www.healthwellnc.com/> .

 More smoke-free restaurants in Dare County can be found on the web at either www.darenc.com <http://www.darenc.com/> or www.nencpph.net http://www.nencpph.net/ . For more information, contact Lisa Phillips, the Touch No Tobacco "TNT" Coordinator at 252-475-5077.