PELL CITY — The City Council could
tighten restrictions on smoking in restaurants.
At the council meeting Thursday evening, Stacey
Neumann, tobacco prevention and control coordinator for
the state Health Department, presented the council with
an information package with fact sheets about the
dangers of secondhand smoke.
Neumann asked the council to consider passing a
non-smoking ordinance for public restaurants.
Neumann told the council that she would provide them,
at a later date, model non-smoking ordinances other
cities have adopted.
"No city is too small or too big to be protected from
secondhand smoke," Neumann said.
Neumann said she would return "soon" to address the
council again.
"We’ll be back, hopefully in large numbers," she
said.
The mayor and council appeared receptive to tighter
restrictions on smoking in public places, but many
members of the council were uncertain if they would
support an all-out ban on smoking in public restaurants.
"I would not be in favor of a total ban," Councilman
Greg Gossett said.
Gossett, like the rest of the council and mayor, does
not smoke.
"I’m a non-smoker," Councilman Ed Pennington said.
"But, I’m not sure if I would be in favor of an overall
ban on smoking in restaurants."
Pennington said his wife smokes.
"I would be in favor of tighter restrictions,"
Councilman J.T. Carter said. "An overall ban — I might
question that."
Carter said restaurants do need designated smoking
areas, however.
"I’m in favor of reasonable restrictions," Councilman
Donnie Todd said. "I’m not for mandating that a
restaurant can’t have a smoking area. I think that is
beyond our scope. But, people should not be subjected to
secondhand smoke."
Todd, a non-smoker, said his wife also smokes.
"As a non-smoker, I prefer non-smoking sections,"
Pell City Mayor Adam Stocks said. "However, I think we
need to hold several meetings to get the consensus of
the public."
The city does have an ordinance prohibiting smoking
in municipal buildings. That ordinance was adopted in
2002.
