After holding two public hearings and listening to the sometimes impassioned remarks of smokers, non-smokers, business owners, activists, barbers, bowlers, veterans, scholars, doctors and waitresses, the Maryville City Council will take up discussion Monday, Dec. 14, on a proposed ordinance to ban smoking from all workplaces inside the city limits.
Mayor Chad Jackson said Wednesday there have been no formal discussions between council members about the ordinance, a draft of which was provided to city officials by Citizens for a Smoke-Free Nodaway County.
After debating the matter among themselves at the council's next regular session, the five-member municipal panel could, at a subsequent meeting, adopt the ordinance as submitted, adopt part of it, adopt a revised version, or do nothing.
A fourth option would be to try to place the proposal before the voters, perhaps as a referendum to be decided during the April 6 election. Jackson said he was unsure what steps would be necessary to get the workplace smoking ban measure on the ballot, but said the process could be similar to that recently used by the city of Liberty.
The Liberty smoking referendum passed Nov. 3 by a 70 percent majority. Liberty's City Council voted unanimously to place the issue on the ballot after 25 percent of the voters in last April's mayoral election signed a petition calling for the issue to be put to a vote.
Similar to an existing Maryville ordinance, the Liberty smoking ban, which went into effect Nov. 23, applies only to enclosed public spaces, including bars and restaurants. The measure endorsed by Citizens for a Smoke-Free Nodaway County would prohibit smoking in all workplaces, including private clubs like the Elks Lodge an American Legion, and within 20 feet of main entryways.
It is unlikely the council would take any statutory action at its next meeting, which will take place at 7 p.m. Monday, Dec. 14, at city hall. Rather, City Manager Matt LeCerf said he anticipates receiving direction from the council on how it wants to proceed.
Should the city's governing body request an ordinance, LeCerf said the document would have to be drafted then undergo review by the city attorney before being formally presented to the council, publicly read and voted on.
Meanwhile, the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services reported this month that a new study by the National Institute of Medicine has confirmed that secondhand tobacco smoke contributes to heart disease.
According to a Department of Health release, the report examined 11 earlier studies that showed a decrease in heart attacks in communities after enactment of laws to prevent smoking in public places, thereby reducing the public’s exposure to secondhand smoke.
The studies consistently showed that exposure to secondhand smoke increases a person’s risk of coronary heart disease by 25 to 30 percent.
“Quitting smoking is one of the most important things you can do to improve your own health and the health of others around you,” said Victoria Warren, manager of the department's Tobacco Control Program. "This research tells us that reducing secondhand smoke reduces heart disease — the leading cause of death in Missouri."
The Institute of Medicine estimates that legislation requiring public places to be smoke free saves more than a half million lives in the United States each year.
