Mayfield has passed a new city-wide smoking ban in public buildings and restaurants.
The city council approved the ordinance's second reading yesterday 5 to 4. It passed the first reading last month 6-4. The ordinance is modeled after Paducah’s smoking ban.
Mayor Teresa Cantrell said the ordinance had been in the works for about 18 months and that it was out of concern for the health of residents as well as employees.
“I had employees of restaurants come to me with concerns of their health issues and these are employees that people say can choose where they want to work. Well, you know what? Jobs are hard to find and if you really enjoy a job and enjoy service type jobs, it would make it so much better for them if they didn’t have to breathe in the smoke all the time," said Cantrell.
The ordinance does exclude spaces used primarily for sleeping such as hotels and nursing homes where facilities are allowed to make their own rules. A $50 fine will be levied on smokers and businesses that don’t comply but Cantrell believes the city won't fine for a while to allow residents to acclimate to the new law.
The ban goes into full effect in 2014.
