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Council snuffs smoking

By JOHN MUNFORD
jmunford@thecitizennews.com

In less than two months, Peachtree City will join about a dozen other cities across Georgia that have deemed the health affects of secondhand smoke enough reason to ban smoking in public areas.

The ordinance, which goes into affect Monday, Oct. 18, was approved by the city council Thursday night on a 4-1 vote. The ordinance allow exemptions for bars if food accounts for no more than 60 percent of the their sales and if they refuse admission to anyone under the age of 18, including employees.

There was no such exemption for restaurants, where patrons will have to start taking their smokes outside. The indoor smoking ban also extends to retail stores, workplaces and city buildings, among other public areas.

Private clubs, however, will be exempt from the ordinance unless the facilities are being used for public events such as a bingo night or other gathering.

The ordinance also regulates outdoor smoking to a smaller degree. Anyone choosing to smoke outside must be at least 10 feet away from any building to keep the smoke from wafting inside through doors, windows and ventilation systems.

Fines up to $50 can be levied against those who smoke in a prohibited area, according to the ordinance. Also, any person who owns, manages, operates or controls a public place and fails to comply with the ordinance can face up to a $100 fine for a first violation, up to $200 for a second violation and up to $500 for a third violation within one year of the first.

Any business that fails to comply with the ordinance could also lose any of its permits and licenses issued by the city such as business and alcohol-serving licenses.

Councilwoman Judi-ann Rutherford cast the lone vote against the measure. She has previously said since the matter is a health issue to protect citizens from secondhand smoke, she thinks no indoor areas should be exempted.

Councilman Steve Rapson said he originally felt the same way, but he later changed his mind after realizing even with the exemption for bars, a large majority of the population would be protected.