Smoking will be prohibited in all indoor public places in Starkville under an ordinance passed by the Board of Aldermen Tuesday.
The ordinance will take effect 60 days after it is published in the Starkville Daily News.
The ordinance prohibits smoking in restaurants, bars, lobbies of hotels, city buildings and other indoor public places. Private clubs and hotel rooms rented to guests are not subject to the restriction, it says.
Smoking is also prohibited in some outdoor areas, including areas “immediately preceding or blocking the entrance and/or exit of an area where smoking is prohibited,” attached areas of restaurants that are covered or partially covered with 50 percent or more of the perimeter walled or otherwise closed, and seating areas of outdoor sports venues, the ordinance says.
The ordinance requires the person in charge of a building covered by the ordinance to post an at least 2-inch-by-2-inch international no-smoking symbol at the main entrance of the premises.
The business will have to pay for the sticker, Ward 5 Alderman Matt Cox said. He said the stickers should cost less than $10 each.
The ordinance will stand for two years after it takes effect to allow the city a chance to evaluate its effects.
After two years, it will be automatically repealed, the ordinance says. The board can then decide whether to reinstate a ban.