County seeks authority on smoking ban

Publication Date: 2006-10-18

• Author:Shawn Flynn
• Publication:News 14 Charlotte

The Mecklenburg Board of County Commissioners unanimously approved a resolution Tuesday asking the North Carolina General Assembly to give local governments the authority to enact a ban on smoking in public places.

Members of Smoke Free Mecklenburg, who petitioned the county commission to support the resolution, attended the meeting. Advocates of the ban made their position clear.

“For three separate communities now, we’ve been able to show that if you go smoke free, you can reduce the number of heart attacks in your community,” heart study author, Dr. Robert Shepard, said.