Elizabethtown Update
Elizabethtown passes smoking ban
Oct. 17, 2006
ELIZABETHTOWN, Ky. – Smoking will be banned in public places and workplaces in Elizabethtown when a new ordinance takes effect.
The Elizabethtown City Council passed the ban Monday night by a 5-1 vote, about three months after a citizens group began pushing the initiative. It will take effect 45 days after the vote.
“We’re celebrating tonight,” said Bobbie Dille, one of a dozen members of Smokefree Elizabethtown present at the meeting. “I wanted to applaud.”
The ordinance covers all public places, places of employment, outdoor arenas and stadiums. Private clubs with no employees are exempt from the measure except when used for a function to which the public is invited. The definition of employee in the ordinance includes “a person who volunteers his or her services for a nonprofit entity.”
Councilwoman Edna Berger cast the lone “no” vote, saying it should be up to business owners to decide if smoking should be allowed in their establishments.
The ordinance is similar to one that Georgetown has used for nearly a year. Other locations in the state have also banned smoking, including Lexington, Frankfort, Morehead, Henderson, Paducah, Daviess County and Letcher County. Gov. Ernie Fletcher signed an executive order banning smoking in government buildings in July.
