After a lull of many months, efforts to restrict smoking in public in Kentucky seem to again be picking up steam. Expect the trend to continue as fewer Kentuckians smoke and more non-smokers want to be free of second-hand smoke when they dine out and shop.
The central Kentucky city of Radcliff, which is located near Elizabethtown and the large Fort Knox Army base, became the latest Kentucky to restrict smoking in public when the city council voted just before Christmas to approve an ordinance to restrict smoking in much the same way as Ashland’s ordinance does. The ordinance — which was approved by a 4-2 vote — will not take effect until April 1.
Soon after Lexington became the first Kentucky city to restrict smoking in public, about 20 other cities and counties across the state — including Louisville and Ashland — soon followed suit. But then the trend slowed to a halt and only picked up steam in the last couple of months.
Meanwhile, the three northern Kentucky counties of Boone, Kenton and Campbell continue to make Covington, Newport, Florence and the numerous other smaller cities in the three counties across the Ohio River from Cincinnati the largest metropolitan area in Kentucky without a restriction on smoking in public. Calls by health care professionals and other anti-smoking advocates to get the fiscal courts in the three counties to enact identical ordinances to restrict public smoking have fallen on deaf ears.
The Kenton County Fiscal Court did recently agree to prohibit smoking in county-owned buildings, but banning smoking in the courthouse still is a long way from restricting smoking in most public places, including private businesses.
Meanwhile, the same organization that successfully convinced the Ashland Board of City Commissioners to restrict smoking in public has announced it hopes to expand the restriction to include all of Boyd County. We hope that effort is successful as we are convinced the advantages of the public smoking ban in Ashland far exceed any disadvantages. That being said, we seriously doubt that the current Boyd Fiscal Court will approve any restrictions on public smoking, particularly during an election year.
Nevertheless, we are convinced that the day will come when smoking is banned in most pubic buildings throughout Kentucky. After all, such bans already exist in many states, including neighboring Ohio. Even in a state where tobacco was once king and smoking was actively promoted by state leaders, it’s just a matter of time.
