West Saint (St.) Louis County - NO Smoking - firefighters or EMS personnel..

July 12, 2009 - Fire officials in west St. Louis County want to make sure all that's smoking are the fires. In what's thought to be the most aggressive anti-smoking policy among fire departments in the state (of Missouri), firefighters and other employees of the West County EMS and Fire Protection District won't be allowed to smoke on the job or in uniform starting in January.

Also, all employees hired after January 1, 2010 must agree not to smoke or chew tobacco while on- or off-duty. "The spirit of the policy is not to get anybody in trouble," district spokeswoman Kim Bacon said. "Everybody knows it's in their best interest."

We felt we owed it to our taxpayers to be in the best shape we possibly could," said Rich Minda, West County fire captain and a vice president of the local firefighters' union. "We just don't feel that it's proper to be doing something so bad for yourself when you're viewed as a role model."

Reference: West County firefighters put out the (cigarette) smoke by Blythe Bernhard, Saint Louis POST-DISPATCH, 7/11/2009.