Town Council makes the following findings relative to the adoption of this chapter:
(A) The town is an incorporated municipality, and as such, possesses all powers granted to municipalities by the Constitution and the laws of the State of South Carolina, including the powers enumerated in S.C. Code § 5-7-30 relating to regulating streets, markets, and public health; and
(B) Numerous studies have found that tobacco smoke is a major contributor to indoor air pollution, and that breathing secondhand smoke (also known as environmental tobacco smoke) is a cause of disease in healthy nonsmokers, including heart disease, stroke, respiratory disease, and lung cancer.
(1) The National Cancer Institute has determined that secondhand smoke is responsible for the early deaths of up to 65,000 Americans annually.
(2) The Surgeon General has declared that:
(a) Secondhand smoke causes disease and premature death in nonsmokers exposed to smoke;
(b) Children exposed to secondhand smoke have an increased risk for sudden death syndrome, acute respiratory infections, ear problems, and more severe asthma;
(c) Adults exposed to secondhand smoke have a higher risk of coronary heart disease and lung cancer;
(d) There is no safe level of exposure to secondhand smoke; and
(e) Separating smoking and nonsmoking sections of indoor areas does not sufficiently remove the threats of secondhand smoke in enclosed areas; and
(C) A significant amount of secondhand smoke exposure occurs in the workplace. Studies have shown that employees who work in smoke-filled businesses suffer a 25-50% higher risk of heart attack and higher rates of death from cardiovascular disease and cancer, as well as increased acute respiratory disease and measurable decrease in lung function; and
(D) Studies have also shown that smoke-filled workplaces result in higher worker absenteeism due to respiratory disease, lower productivity, higher cleaning and maintenance costs, increased health insurance rates, and increased liability claims for diseases related to exposure to secondhand smoke; and
(E) There are laws, ordinances and regulations in place that protect workers from other environmental hazards, including Class A carcinogens, asbestos, arsenic and benzene, but none which regulate exposure to environmental tobacco smoke; and
(F) Prohibiting smoking in the workplace increases public awareness of the negative health effects of smoking, reduces the social acceptability of smoking, and reduces harm to children and other nonsmokers; and
(G) The South Carolina General Assembly, in S.C. Code §§ 44-95-10 et seq. (the “Clean Indoor Air Act of 1990"), imposed certain limitations on smoking.
(1) For example, it limited smoking in government buildings (the definition of which includes city-owned buildings), except where the owner of such building shall designate smoking areas.
(2) Town Council has now determined that additional regulation of smoking in areas beyond those addressed in the Clean Indoor Air Act of 1990 is appropriate, in furtherance of its duty to protect the health of its citizens and employees in the workplace, and therefore enacts this chapter.
(Ord. 07007, passed 6-12-07)