Members of the Norwood Board of Selectmen highlighted personal health battles and anti-smoking stances, contrasting sharply with other smoke-filled municipal board rooms.
Selectmen Share Personal Smoking and Health Accounts
Reflecting a strong non-smoking majority on the board, Selectman Martin J. Lydon and Selectman Walter J. Dempsey discussed their first-hand experiences with the toll of heavy smoking. Lydon, who lost a lung and his voice to cancer, recounted visiting Willett School third graders to share a cautionary visual warning, speaking with a raspy, halting voice achieved through nearly 11 months of esophageal practice. Dempsey recalled quitting smoking abruptly in April 1968 after suffering a heart attack following years of smoking three packs of Winstons a day.
While selectmen’s chambers maintain a strict smoke-free environment complete with “No Smoking” signage and zero ashtrays, other local bodies—including the school committee and planning board—continue to meet in rooms where a majority of members smoke.
Archival Note: This article has been dynamically reconstructed from the original public record print archives of the Patriot Ledger
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