Smoking: Jacksonians should breathe easier

The Clarion-Ledger, 3/3/8

Cities across the state continue to adopt smoking ordinances to remove dangerous secondhand smoke from public areas. Jackson may be next on the list with a move to strengthen its existing rules to include restaurants and bars.

The City Council should clear the air and adopt a smoking ban that addresses those problem areas.

A Council committee has been working on the ordinance since late last year, moving slowly to gain plenty of public input. Council members certainly have gotten plenty of it. Citizens lined up recently to speak in support of the ordinance change.

The negative health effects of secondhand smoke are clear. Smokers not only are killing themselves, their secondhand smoke affects everyone around them.