Brea : Council Will Consider Law Restricting Smoking

Brea residents may soon find it difficult to puff on those cigarettes in public places and even in private businesses if city officials adopt a smoking ordinance now in the drafting stage.

At their meeting on Tuesday, council members asked the city staff to prepare an ordinance to regulate smoking in public and possibly private sectors, such as businesses, said Assistant City Manager Denise Ovrom. The ordinance will be presented at the council’s June 4 meeting, she said.

The Board of Supervisors on Tuesday accepted an offer from the Orange County Chamber of Commerce to develop smoking rules within 90 days for voluntary compliance by private employers instead of a stricter mandatory smoking ban considered earlier.

On the municipal level, Laguna Beach was the first Orange County city to have a smoking law. Approved in February, the ordinance bans smoking in public meeting rooms, municipal buses, theaters, auditoriums, elevators and indoor service lines.

Laguna Beach’s ordinance resembles similar laws in Los Angeles, San Francisco and Pasadena in that they all regulate smoking in the workplace, according to a report prepared by Brea staff. The four cities also prohibit smoking in elevators, hallways, hospitals and health facilities, public restrooms, public meeting rooms, theaters, auditoriums and eating establishments unless a non-smoking section is provided, the report states.

Other Orange County cities considering similar laws include Orange, Newport Beach and Irvine.