Jackson Free Press

Read the city's amended smoking ordinance.

A partial ban on smoking now will include all bars and restaurants, with no exceptions, in an ordinance the Jackson City Council passed today in a 6-to-1 vote.

"The ordinance now allows everyone in the capital city to be able to breathe clean air wherever they go," American Cancer Society Coordinator Anita Bales said, pointing out that cities all over the state and country are introducing and successfully enforcing similar smoking bans.

The ordinance change represents an update to a vague ban the city imposed in 2008--one that critics complained was far too easy to subvert or misunderstand. The 2008 ban excluded businesses classified as "stand alone bars." Some businesses incorrectly believed that the ban did not include their restaurant, as long as the majority of their revenue came from alcohol sales instead of food sales. The city and state defines a standalone bar as an establishment that only serves light wine and beer. The Mississippi Tax Commission requires businesses that sell hard liquor, and wine and beer with alcohol content higher than 5 percent, to have food sales of 25 percent or more of their gross receipts to qualify for an alcoholic beverage license.

Ward 3 Councilman Kenneth Stokes was the sole vote against the expansion of the ban, arguing that "grown people should be allowed to smoke."

Ward 2 Councilman Chokwe Lumumba voted to support the ban, but voiced concern over the city government's increased meddling in the lives of citizens.

"We're going down a slippery slope," Lumumba warned. "With this vote we could get into a conundrum over new laws that won't necessarily solve any problems."

Members of the local Coalition Against a Total Smoking Ban spoke out prior to the vote. Member Victoria Burt complained that coalition members were wasting their voice before the council, because city council members already appeared to support the ordinance change.

Burt suggested that the council implement a permitting process that would allow some businesses to retain their smoking status. "This ordinance discriminates against (smokers)," Burt argued, "and the city would get money through the issuance of these permits, and they don't have to allow permits to any business, just the ones that strictly serve adult customers."
Stokes and Lumumba submitted an amendment allowing business owners to apply for a special permit for smoking designations, but the amendment failed with a 2-to-5 vote, with majority council members arguing that practically every restaurant and bar in the city would end up getting a smoking permit and undermining the spirit of the ban.

Mississippi Hospitality and Restaurant Association Executive Director Mike Cashion spoke against the decision this morning. "The issue, to us, has always been government intervention where government doesn't need to be. ... (I)f it's the will of the City Council to do that, well, create the level playing field and we'll all operate accordingly," Cashion said.
 Even Cashion admitted that a simpler ban instituted by the council would clear some misunderstandings.

"I think there were some legitimate gray areas in there that people weren't 100 percent sure (whether) they were covered under the ban or exempt under the ban. This will certainly clarify that," Cashion said. He added, however, that the city would still have enforcement issues. "If somebody's non-compliant, how do we respond to that?"

Ward 6 Councilman Tony Yarber also complained that the ordinance was not clear on who exactly would enforce the ban. Mayor Harvey Johnson Jr. explained that the city's code enforcement department and the Jackson Fire Department would report violations whenever they were detected during the normal course of the departments' duties, but said any affidavits for violations reported by private citizens or patrons would have to go through the police department.

Fines for misdemeanor violations are $500 for the first violation and $1,000 for all following violations for business owners and individuals who do not comply with the ordinance within one year of any prior violation.