Jefferson City councilman to propose smoking ban
Published Oct. 17, 2003
Jefferson City might be the next community to ban smoking in public places.
On Monday, Jefferson City Councilman Clyde Angle will propose an ordinance that would ban smoking in all public places in the city. The ordinance would be up for a vote at the following council meeting two weeks later.
He said he thinks the proposal has a lot of public support, but that it will be a close vote.
"I am hopeful it will pass," he said.
Angle said he thinks the proposal is important for the health of residents and workers.
"Opponents complain that this is governmental intrusion as if this is the first issue where the government has interjected itself," he said. "Fire codes, health regulations, worker safety and alcohol laws are just a sampling of where the government is a part of our everyday lives.
"The notion that government should not intrude and regulate conduct of private enterprise is absolutely wrong, and the facts do not support that position."
In Columbia, smoking in public places has been restricted since 1996.
The original ordinance was passed in 1986 and was revised in 1996, said Gerald Worley, environmental health manager with the Columbia/Boone County Health Department.
It prohibits smoking in selected public places in Columbia, such as in retail stores, banks, public transportation, libraries and educational facilities and any building owned or managed by the city.