Proposed Smoking Ban Draws Large Crowd at Town Hall Meeting

A proposal to limit where smokers in Savannah can light up continued to draw loud support and opposition Wednesday night.

The proposed ordinance would ban smoking in all Savannah workplaces, including bars. Areas within 20 feet of business entrances, playgrounds, bus stops, and outdoor restaurant seating would also be off limits.

About 30 people lined up at the city's quarterly town hall meeting Wednesday night to voice their opinion.

Several business owners have raised both economic and safety concerns about the plan.

"My own office building that I bought and paid for in cash, and tell me what I can do with my business... It is a lawful activity," said one man.

"Addressing public safety... what happens if you've got groups of 30, 40 people, somebody accidentally steps out off the sidewalk and is hit by an automobile," said Steve Hardy.

But health officials said there is no proof that smoking bans in other cities have hurt business.

"Smoke free policies are not bad for businesses. There are numerous economic impact studies... that show there is no apparent impact or a positive impact when municipalities pass smoke-free laws," said Amy Hughes from Healthy Savannah.

Other citizens had personal reasons for speaking out both for and against the measure.

"He died at the age of 44 from sudden cardiac death. That could've been prevented," said one woman in reference to her late husband.

"Choice is out there. It exists right now. People need to take advantage of that without the government getting involved on any level," said a man who opposed the ban.

The Georgia Restaurant Association stood in support of the ban, with reservations.

"The way the law is written or the proposed law is written, it would prohibit an individual from smoking within 20 feet of the entrance of facility that is open, and 20 feet from a  facility that is closed or not even occupied," said Mike Vacquer with the GRA.

Wednesday night was the second public meeting about the proposed smoking ban.

If you missed it, you can still submit your comments online in writing to city leaders. To submit your comments, click here.

To read the draft of the proposed smoking ban, click here.

The city will have a formal first reading of the proposed ordinance in August. A vote has not yet been scheduled.