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PTC Council open to ‘smoking room’ at local plant

By JOHN MUNFORD
jmunford@TheCitizenNews.com

A Peachtree City industry will be allowed to keep its smoking break room for employees after petitioning the city council to do so Thursday night.

Council voted unanimously to have staff prepare an amendment to the city’s indoor smoking ban that would allow businesses to construct fully enclosed smoking rooms with separate ventilation systems.

Alcan Packaging, which produces packaging for tobacco, food, cosmetic and pharmaceutical products, built the smoking room at a cost of more than $100,000, said Ron Syrkos, Alcan vice president and general manager. Syrkos said the air is exhausted outside to the roof area, and the room’s air pressure is maintained so when the door opens, the smoky air doesn’t leak out.

City Manager Bernie McMullen said the city’s mechanical code has a list of requirements for smoking rooms, and that could be adopted in the amendment to the city’s indoor smoking ordinance, which took effect Oct. 18.

The mechanical code requirements include the smoking room being fully enclosed with the negative air pressure that keeps the smoke from filtering out, and the use of a separate ventilation system, McMullen noted. He also said that businesses which build smoking rooms could be required to test their room to make sure the proper airflow is being met.

Syrkos said he didn’t oppose using the smoking room guidelines in the mechanical code to amend the city’s indoor smoking ordinance. A city study of the smoking room showed that it met the mechanical code guidelines, McMullen said.