No Smoking?

GULFPORT, Miss. (AP) - Officials are considering a local law
that would make Gulfport the latest of several Mississippi cities
to prohibit smoking in restaurants and other places.
Some business owners are nervous about the economic aftermath of
a proposed citywide ban on smoking. They will get their first
chance to speak out next month at a City Council hearing.
According to an early seven-page draft of the smoking law, the
city would outlaw smoking almost everywhere. It would be illegal at
places of employment, bars, restaurants, taxicabs and private
offices. At work, smokers would have to walk at least 20 feet from
the building's entrance.
Smoking would still be allowed in up to 20 percent of all rooms
rented at bed and breakfast facilities and hotels and motels.
The new law would not affect casinos.
Smoking bans are already in place in several cities, including
McComb, Starkville, Hattiesburg, Tupelo, Ridgeland and Oxford.


(Copyright 2007 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

AP-NY-12-22-07 1504EST