North Myrtle Beach to take first vote on smoking ban later this month

NORTH MYRTLE BEACH| -- People might not be able to distinguish an e-cigarette from a real cigarette in certain situations, which is why the city council has decided to include e-cigarettes in its non-smoking ordinance.

The city council expects to take its first vote on the proposed ordinance later this month.

When city council members made changes to the proposed non-smoking ordinance in December, those changes included not applying the ordinance to e-cigarettes.

City Manager Mike Mahaney said Monday that city staff encourages the council not to include e-cigarettes because he doesn’t want to put law enforcement in a position of trying to determine whether it is an e-cigarette.

But some city council members said it would create a problem if the ordinance doesn’t address it.

“There’s a psychological impact of it,” City Councilman Bob Cavanaugh said. “For example, if you’re in a theater and look around and see 10 people with it, it looks like they are smoking. There’s an influence on other people, especially at night when an e-cigarette looks like a cigarette.”

City Councilman Hank Thomas agreed and Councilman Greg Duckworth shared similar thoughts.

“I can see in low lighting situations where law enforcement is covering an event, you may not be able to tell from a distance,” Duckworth said.

Mayor Marilyn Hatley thinks it would be hard to enforce and would require more education about e-cigarettes.

“You can smell a cigarette, but you can’t smell an e-cigarette,” Councilman Terry White said.

The city’s proposed ordinance titled “Smoking in Public Places” will get a vote on Jan.23. The ordinance is similar to ones adopted by Surfside Beach and Greenville.

The council held its second workshop Monday afternoon to discuss the ordinance, which includes prohibiting smoking in public transportation vehicles, such as taxicabs and buses; in hotel and motel common areas, and at ballparks, athletic fields and other sporting/athletic venues when in use for athletic competitions or public performances. Smoking will be allowed in parks only in designated areas.

The ordinance does not apply to retail tobacco stores, which includes existing cigar bars; campground spaces, hotel and motel rooms, or structures owned or rented as time shares.

Cavanaugh said Monday that the council has done an “outstanding” job with the ordinance, but he would like to see whether businesses would make that choice to go smoke free on their own instead of there being a government mandate.

“I think that a vast majority of them would make the decision to be smoke free on their own,” he said. “I feel uncomfortable doing a mandate on a social issue. I think there should be a mandate to have a sign that says smoking or non-smoking. For one year, let’s try it. If it doesn’t work, we can put in all mandates.”

White said he thinks businesses want the government to make that decision for them instead of possibly upsetting customers if they make the choice to go smoke free.

Wanda Yow, secretary of the Shaggers Hall of Fame, agreed. She said 14 out of every 15 shaggers polled, who also visit the city’s shag clubs, want a non-smoking ordinance.

According to a survey conducted by the North Myrtle Beach Chamber of Commerce, 73 percent of local businesses support a smoking ban inside, Duckworth said.