Smokers ignore the ban.


 

More medical support for smoking ban

October 27, 2009

Greenwood’s ban on smoking in restaurants and bars is being vindicated by yet another scientific study.
A recent report from the Institute of Medicine found that in locales around the world where smoking bans have been enacted, the number of heart attacks has dropped by 6 percent to 47 percent.

The report underlines what the U.S. surgeon general warned of in 2006: There’s really no safe level of exposure to secondhand smoke.

Greenwood’s two-year-old ban has met with opposition from some smokers and business owners. It’s been overwhelmingly popular, though, with the majority of the public, which doesn’t smoke and doesn’t want to inhale the toxic fumes of those who do.

The only problem with the ban is that it is not being fully enforced. There are still a few places, mostly bars, where patrons have complained that smokers are allowed to light up indoors.
Those violations should be easy to police. All an officer has to do is poke his head in the nightspot and take a whiff.
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Greenwood to vote on smoking ban ordinance

July 8, 2007

Greenwood City Council members will vote July 17 on an ordinance to ban smoking in bars, restaurants and other public places.

The council will hold a public hearing on the ordinance July 16 at City Hall.

Pann Powers, a volunteer with the American Cancer Society, told council members this week that the vote on the ordinance would promote good health.

"We now have proof positive that smoking is not only harmful for those that smoke but also those that are subjected to the secondhand smoke. I can speak to that firsthand," Powers said.

If the ordinance is approved, Greenwood would join a growing number of cities - including Tupelo, Hattiesburg, Ridgeland and Starkville - that have restricted smoking in public places.
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