On Jan. 2, the Smoke-Free Ordinance in the city of Rolla was put into place. According to the official smoke-free brochure distributed by City of Rolla, “the purpose of the ban is to protect public health by eliminating people’s exposure to secondhand smoke at workplaces and public places.”
“The key requirements are for every place of business to post a sign that indicates smoking is not allowed. Each business is partially responsible for implementing the ordinance,” City Administrator John Butz said.
There were rumors circulating that Bingo Night at Lions Club was exempt from the tobacco consumption prohibition, but the ordinance was actually revised for private functions.
“The ordinance was revised to say if you are a not-for-profit club, a private organization and you do not have paid employees, you can allow smoking,” Butz said.
One would assume that the bar industry and other establishments that cater towards smokers in Rolla would start to fail, but the council seems to disagree.
“Many reports seem to suggest in the short-term there can be a loss of business to those who cater predominately to smokers. But over time, the sediment is that they gain that loss of business back, as people get familiar with the ordinance,” Butz said.
Because of the known effects of secondhand smoke, the council thought it fit to place a citywide ban on smoking, meaning any establishment outside of city lines can allow smoking. Secondhand smoke is classified as a “known human carcinogen” (cancer-causing agent) by the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
“We expected people to be satisfied or comfortable with the ordinance. It’s estimated that about 22 percent of the population is smoking. So, it’s a minority of people that smoke. Certainly non-smokers support the idea of the business owners right to choose to allow smoking or not. There’s criticism of that. But, by and large, the feedback since implementation is predominately positive, and we have no received complaints or any violations,” Butz said.
