VFW Post 8845 in Fort Smith goes smokeless

The framed photos of past post commanders at the Jim Taylor Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 8845 in Fort Smith decorate the walls in a building from 1981.

Other artifacts of military life adorn the barroom with a carpet floor.

Tobacco smoke has left its mark on the bar. Soon, the stains of tobacco will be cleaned from the building.

The post is going smokeless.

Smoke-free days are ahead at the VFW in Fort Smith. Members recently voted on and approved a ban on smoking in the building that will take effect in August.

There was a time the tobacco smoke might have been as thick as fog in the hall, when a popular motto from the World War II-era was "smoke 'em if you got 'em." There is a long history of tobacco use in the military, said Post Adjutant Stephen Wright. But it is being snuffed out and cigarettes, cigars and pipes will soon be things of the past at the post, located at 3005 Tilles Ave.

"Many veterans used tobacco while they served, particularly during deployment," Wright said.

The post has a bingo hall and a bar inside. Arkansas law allows for smoking in bars.

"VFW Post 8845 has been a smoking post for quite some time," Wright said. "We allow smoking in the bar area, the canteen as we call it. Unanimously at our last post members' meeting we voted to abolish all smoking in the post in its totality."

He said the health of the veterans is the top issue.

"If we don't take into consideration the health of our veterans who come in to this post we're not doing all we can for them," Wright said.

Also, families with children will be allowed in a smoke-free post, he said.

Use of tobacco carries various health risks. Women who use tobacco, for example, face an 18 times greater risk of dying from lung cancer compared to women who do not. Smoking in public places exposes others to secondhand smoke, which can cause them health problems. Secondhand smoke is responsible for more than 40,000 deaths annually, according to the Centers for Disease Control.

Members and officers of VFW Post 8845 will host a grand reopening event to celebrate going smokeless after the building undergoes an extensive, deep cleaning. The reopening is planned for 1 p.m. to 2 p.m. Monday, Aug. 1.

This article originally appeared on Fort Smith Times Record: Smoke-free it will be in the Fort Smith VFW Post 8845