O'Fallon Residents, Business Owners Talk City-wide Smoking Ban

O'Fallon voters will decide today whether or not to restrict smoking in the city's restaurants and bars.  

In December, local citizen's group Smoke-Free O'Fallon gathered over 1,900 signatures to place an initiative on the April 2011 ballot. If passed, Proposition S or the O'Fallon Smoke-Free Air Act will prohibit smoking in most public places, including restaurants and bars, similar to the .

Last week, O'Fallon Patch talked with residents about their thoughts on the smoking ban. 

Some local restaurant and bar owners say individual owners should decide whether or not they allow smoking in their establishments and a city-wide smoking ban will drive their customers away to neighboring cities. 

Residents who support the ban say it will provide a safer and healthier environment for patrons and workers who would no longer be exposed to secondhand smoke. 

O'Fallon Patch also spoke with Amy Koehler, an associate professor of nursing at St. Charles Community College, who talked about possible affects of exposure to secondhand smoke.