Smoking proposal gets OKs, opposition
5/21/2008 12:19 AM   3 comment(s) on this story E-mail this story to a friend

By APRIL BAILEY

Staff writer

The City of Aiken's proposal to stomp out cigarettes in public places was met with mixed reviews by the public at a community meeting Tuesday.

Resident Jack Beckum called any proposal to prohibit smoking made by the City "baloney" and "absolutely ridiculous."

"There is no correlation between secondhand smoke and somebody's health," he said.

Mayor Fred Cavanaugh said the City is considering the ordinance based on reports of the health risks posed by secondhand smoke. Among those were studies conducted by the National Cancer Institute, which determined secondhand smoke is the cause of the early deaths of up to 65,000 Americans each year.

"We're trying to make our community as safe as it can be," Cavanaugh said.

The City of Aiken's proposal comes after a recent ruling by the South Carolina Supreme Court to uphold Greenville's smoking ordinance. According to City Manager Roger LeDuc, the City's draft ordinance resembles the one passed in Greenville as well as Aiken County's ordinance, which went into effect last year.

However, with the proposal, the City's ordinance would be regulated through the City manager's office, and smoking would be allowed in outdoor sports arenas.

Aiken resident Don Swindler said he supports the proposal. An asthma sufferer, Swindler called smoking in public a "health issue" and said he didn't think Council members should water down the draft at all.

Local business owner Sam Erb asked Council to consider creating some uniformity between the City and County's ordinances so as not to create unfair competition with neighboring bars and restaurants in the County and Augusta.

"I want uniformity, and I want fairness. It should have been done statewide - I don't understand why it wasn't - but there must be uniformity," Erb said. "We have an ordinance in Aiken County that works; why reinvent the wheel?"

Aiken County Councilman Scott Singer also expressed a need for the City and Council to work together on the issue.

"I do think there is some validity that there should be some consistency with the City and County ordinances," he said.

If the ordinances are the same, it would alleviate concerns that business owners may have of local competition and would also eliminate any confusion residents would have with two different ordinances, Singer said.

Dan Carrigan, a representative with the Smoke-Free Action network, said he supported the City's draft ordinance.

"Every health group in the state will get behind what you have drafted here today," he said.

Carrigan called Aiken County's ordinance one of the weakest in the state and said his organization wants the County's ordinance to be changed.

LeDuc said the City plans to present a smoking ordinance for Council to consider for its first reading on June 9.

Contact April Bailey at abailey@aikenstandard.com.

Proposed smoking ban rules and restrictions:

-- Enclosed public places

-- Violators will be fined no less than $10 or no more than $25.

-- Repeated infractions by businesses may result in suspension or revocation of a permit or business license.

Non-restricted places:

-- Any outside area that is not posted as a non-smoking area

-- Private residences, except when used as a day care or health care facility

-- Hotel and motel rooms designated as smoking rooms

-- Retail tobacco stores

-- Requested private and semiprivate smoking rooms in nursing homes and long-term care facilities

-- Private clubs except for events that admit the general public

-- Outdoor designated smoking areas at places of employment

-- Outside smoking designated areas

-- Theatrical stage productions when smoking is essential to the performance

-- Personal vehicles, including times when they are used for employment purposes

Source: City of Aiken

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