McComb Update
McComb Adopts Smoking Ban For Restaurants
October 11, 2007
McCOMB, Miss — The city of McComb is now joining the ban against smoking in restaurants.
The ban kicks off during the American Cancer Society’s Great American Smokeout on Nov. 15. It will prohibit smoking in all restaurants and any eateries with open bar areas as well as city parks.
The city will allow smoking in restaurants provided that the smoking areas are fully enclosed, have a separate ventilation system and a separate entrance.
The board of selectmen adopted the new ordinance Tuesday. Smoking bans are already in place in several cities including Starkville, Hattiesburg, Tupelo, Ridgeland and Oxford.
?
?
McComb city board to consider smoking ban
9/23/07
McCOMB — A proposed smoking ban in McComb restaurants may be considered as early as this week by the city’s board of selectmen.
Mayor Zach Patterson said he hopes for a vote at either Tuesday’s board meeting or no later than the Oct. 9 meeting.
“I think we need to be a leader in this issue,” Patterson said.
Forrest Adair, who has been leading the effort, said the ban also will include restaurants with open bar areas and city parks.
“This is an opportunity for McComb to be first in southwest Mississippi,” Adair said.
Smoking would still be permitted in freestanding bars or bars closed off from restaurants, provided that the smoking section is fully enclosed, has a separate ventilation system and separate entrance, Adair said in a www.enterprise-journal.com article.
The ordinance would not forbid smoking outside of restaurants or other buildings.
Adair said he would like the ban, if it passes, to take effect on Nov. 15 to coincide with the American Cancer Society’s Great American Smokeout.
Nurse Cindy Johns, who also served on a panel that drafted the proposed ordinance, said she is glad to see the ordinance gaining momentum.
“It’s not about taking people’s rights it’s about health issues,” she said.
Adair said after Starkville established a similar law, business largely improved.
“A healthy family atmosphere ought to be smoke-free,” he said.
Enforcement details, including fines, will be up to selectmen, Adair said. Restaurants that ignore the ordinance may also face discipline from the city or Health Department.
If the ban passes, McComb would join a growing list of Mississippi cities to prohibit people from lighting up in certain areas.
Officials in Petal are also considering a smoking ban. That proposed ordinance would prohibit smoking in most public places, including restaurants and shopping malls.
Some cities, like Madison, have persuaded business owners to voluntarily ban smoking.
