Owensboro plans to extend smoking ban to outdoors

Owensboro Mayor Ron Payne says he has the votes to pass a smoking ban for “all public spaces, including parks and outdoor dining areas and
city-owned properties,” Steve Vied reports for the Messenger-Inquirer. Daviess County has an eight-year-old ban on smoking in buildings open to those under 18.

“We’re going to be a smoke-free community,” Payne said at the end of Tuesday’s City Commission meeting. Afterward, he said, “We want to be a healthy community.”

“Payne said he has heard from many people who enjoy the city’s new
downtown outdoor dining areas and spending time in Smothers Park but who
don’t like being around cigarette smoke,” Vied writes. (The M-I has a paywall; for an Associated Press story, click here.