BELLFLOWER : Tough No-Smoking Law Repealed by City Council
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The Bellflower City Council has repealed Southern California’s toughest no-smoking ordinance, 14 months after the measure took effect.
The ordinance, which will go off the books in 30 days, prohibits smoking in restaurants and most buildings with public access. A last-minute attempt by Mayor John Ansdell to require nonsmoking and smoking areas in restaurants failed to gain support.
The council, which tentatively voted to repeal the ban two weeks ago, stuck to its decision Monday despite a two-hour hearing in which parents, youngsters and health experts made emotional pleas and cited statistics about the health dangers associated with second-hand smoke. More than 30 children paraded in front of City Hall with posters saying “Second-Hand Smoke Is No Joke,” “Don’t Let Your Dinner Be an Ashtray” and “Healthy Lungs Are Not Smoky Lungs.”
The repeal was supported by many restaurant owners, who said the ordinance has harmed their businesses.
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