(A) Numerous studies have concluded that tobacco smoke is a major contributor to indoor air pollution, and that breathing secondhand smoke is a cause of disease, including lung cancer, in non-smokers. At special risk are children, elderly people, individuals with cardiovascular disease, and individuals with impaired respiratory function, including asthmatics and those with obstructive airway disease; and
(B) Secondhand smoke has been classified as a Group A carcinogen like asbestos by the Environmental Protection Agency; and
(C) Secondhand smoke is a health hazard for city employees and a barrier to citizens limiting full access to the use of city-owned buildings and vehicles; and
(D) In order to provide a safe workplace for city employees and to ensure maximum access for the public to city-owned buildings and vehicles, the City Council finds and declares that the purposes of this article are:
(1) To protect the public health and welfare by prohibiting smoking in city-owned buildings and vehicles; and
(2) To guarantee the right to breath smoke-free air, recognizing that the need to breath smoke-free air shall have priority over the desire to smoke.
(Ord. No. 06-04, § 1, 5-18-04)