Elkhart passes smoking ban; is county-wide ban next?

by Sarah Rice (srice@wsbt.com)

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The city of Elkhart passed a smoking ban

The Elkhart City Council passed a smoking ban on April 3, 2008. (WSBT photo)

By Beth Boehne

ELKHART — Lighting up in Elkhart will soon be a thing of the past. The City Council passed a smoking ordinance Thursday. It bans smoking in any enclosed public places, like restaurants and some businesses. Goshen passed a similar ban last April. Many wonder if a county-wide ban is next.

Nappanee would also have to pass its own ban before the county would consider it. That’s a promise one county commissioner made to proponents. But a smoking ban in Nappanee is not likely to happen anytime soon.

“It’s my choice if I want to smoke or not,” smoker Noel Johnson told WSBT News.

But that choice is quickly being taken away as many businesses are going smoke free.

Elkhart County Commissioner Mike Yoder thinks it’s a trend we’ll continue to see.

“I think that there’s a strong sense that the market is going to take us there anyways,” he said. “There’s no need for a county ordinance.”

But Yoder says he would consider it under one circumstance.

“Now what I’ve promised the proponents is that if Nappanee would go as well — if we had the three largest ones go — then I would bring it to the county commissioners,” he said.

But a smoking ban is not something Nappanee is considering right now.

“We took this little poll with the chamber about a year ago when Goshen was working on theirs and Elkhart wasn’t quite sure what to do at that time, and there didn’t seem to be a large enough group of people here who wanted to ban or move that way,” explained Nappanee Mayor Larry Thompson.

It’s a decision Yoder isn’t too worried about.

In fact, he’d rather not have government intrude on private businesses unless it’s absolutely necessary.

“It’s really tough for us to step across that line into a private business and tell them, ‘No you can’t do this activity that the federal says is legal,’” he said. “So that’s a big philosophical problem that we have.”

Nappanee Mayor Thompson says a smoking ban isn’t necessarily out of the question. He says if the county approached him about it, he would consider it. But at this point, it’s not something they’re looking to do on their own.

Thursday, May 15 at 8:20 AM Second Hand Rose wrote ...

Smoking bans are quite the rage. They supposedly have one at Ivy Tech in South Bend but it does not work. Just drive around the parking lots and you will see smokers hovering and hiding all over the place with a cigarette hanging from their mouth. The back parking lot is the worst with a bunch of students in white coats all huddled together while they smoke outside. Then there are the butts they leave all over the place. Just build them a smoking/choking room so they can inhale!

Sunday, Apr 6 at 11:32 AM Kevin wrote ...

Public Health is a street gang in lab coats, an apologist and excuse maker, for the industries that do cause us significant harm. The protected caste of the order now above the law. That protection would include their largest supporters; Charities, Oil, Drugs, Processed Foods and The Tobacco Industry, who all happily sing along, while increasing their all important bottom lines. Reality by coercion, fear mongering and emotional blackmail, thousands die and suffer, by Public Health's bloody hands

Sunday, Apr 6 at 11:19 AM Kevin wrote ...

Where is the research comparing second hand smoke to clean air, as the predominant toxic element in a smoky bar or on a park bench? Compared to the time exposed to second hand smoke and what is actually inhaled it doesn't take a lot of imagination to realize what you are actually exposed to, in higher volumes and much longer durations lifetime.

Sunday, Apr 6 at 6:30 AM Mark T wrote ...

Smokers would like to ignore the fact that smoking is offensive. They whine and cry about their rights being trampled on. I have no pity for them. I'm sick of breathing in smoke when someone next to me lights up. If you want to kill yourself smoking fine, just do it somewhere else. Good Job Elkhart!

Saturday, Apr 5 at 9:42 PM Mike wrote ...

Ed you are 100% correct.Todd you are an idiot.

Saturday, Apr 5 at 9:04 PM Anonymous wrote ...

i have never smoked, but i still think it should be up to the bar owner, and the other person going in...if i dont like smoke, and he allows smoking, i wont spend my money there..should be the owners choice...

Saturday, Apr 5 at 3:43 PM Pete wrote ...

I've got to agree with Todd. What kind of freedom is it to pollute the air and make other people sick?! It really doesn't take that much effort to take smoke breaks outside to protect the health of all of those who don't smoke.

Saturday, Apr 5 at 1:36 PM Anonymous wrote ...

Bob, shut off you are such a coward of a man.

Saturday, Apr 5 at 10:33 AM Bob wrote ...

Why do they keep picking on bars? Most patrons in the local privately owned bars are smokers and there aren't any kids there.

Saturday, Apr 5 at 10:26 AM Bob wrote ...

they claim that many businesses have gone smoke free due to the owners choice. Isn't that the freedom that we fought for?

Saturday, Apr 5 at 10:08 AM Todd wrote ...

Ed...do us all a favor and move to Canada. You are clearly disgruntled on most of your post. Smoking is not a freedom. Drinking Coke is not a freedom. They are luxury items!!!! The tobacco industry lines the congress pockets with huge money. That is why it's dealt with on the local level. Businesses supported by only smokers would be bankrupt in a month. Non-smokers are the majority. They need our business. I can tell by sight if a 50 year old smokes or not..destroys their skin.

Saturday, Apr 5 at 9:25 AM worried wrote ...

no smoking in bars now we'll have all the intoxicated people out on the streets smoking so our children can all see how much fun it is to drink. good going elkhart

Saturday, Apr 5 at 6:18 AM Anonymous wrote ...

Take away another freedom? No one outlawed cigarettes. The ability to blow unhealthy smoke in someone else's space isn't a freedom, it's obnoxious. If you want to pollute the air with the by product of a weak-willed bad habit, do it in the privacy of your own home or vehicle. Equating this ban (which is actually a protection of the non-smoker's rights to pursue happiness) to the fall of democracy and the rise of dictatorship is silly- you embarrass yourself with such simple-minded rhetoric.

Saturday, Apr 5 at 3:54 AM Lisa wrote ...

I think that certain business have a right to refuse smokers but a city/county wide ban is taking away the freedoms that we (should) enjoy. It should be allowed to have smokers only places of business (restaurants, pubs, etc). This way, those who don't smoke need not go there. I do, however, agree on no smoking in offices, public and private.

Saturday, Apr 5 at 1:10 AM Diane wrote ...

Nothing like "Big Brother" controlling people. The government needs to concentrate on more important matters than this. What ever happened to the clean air machines that sucked the smoke out of the air to replace it with fresh air? As far as I'm concerned, the non-smoking whiners can kiss my you-know-what.

Friday, Apr 4 at 11:14 PM Phil wrote ...

I can hardly wait to have the whole county and the whole state enact a public places smoking ban. It's not as if there still wouldn't be plenty of places for smokers to smoke. Secondhand smoke is a proven health hazard to both customers and employees. Anyone who travels a bit will realize that smoking bans are already in place in most parts of the US and most of the developed world. There will be one passed here soonner or later.

Friday, Apr 4 at 7:39 PM Ed wrote ...

Great the "Safety Nazis" have taken away another freedom. I don't smoke but think these people need to get a life. what we already had in place worked fine. I will no longer go to Elkhart to eat, drink or shop due to this new law and encourage businesses to move outside the city limits. This is how democracies fall and dictatorships (like in Iran) start. Bring the troops home as there is no sense fighting to give someone else what we no longer have. These people are more threat then Bin Laden.

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