A smoking ban geared at establishing smoke-free zones outside of businesses in the town of Duncan, S.C. passed its first reading unanimously at the town’s council meeting on Tuesday night.

After a bit of debate and several revisions to the proposal, the council decided to expand the smoke-free zone outside of businesses from five feet to 20 feet. Additionally, the town’s Shipwreck Cove water park was added to the list of places where smoking is completely prohibited. The original proposal sought to curb use of all forms of tobacco, but the council felt it more important to try and contain smoking tobacco because of its effect on bystanders.

The proposal originally came up for a vote in mid-September but was delayed in order to give council members more time to gather information about the impact of a ban.

While it hasn’t been formally placed on the agenda for the council’s January meeting, Mayor Lisa Scott told GoUpstate.com she expects that is when it will get its second reading.

Duncan is located in the northwest corner of the state with a population of around 3,300 people.

Avatar photo

Patrick Lagreid

I strive to capture the essence of a cigar and the people behind them in my work – every cigar you light up is the culmination of the work of countless people and often represents generations of struggle and stories. For me, it’s about so much more than the cigar – it’s about the story behind it, the experience of enjoying the work of artisans and the way that a good cigar can bring people together. In addition to my work with halfwheel, I’m the public address announcer for the Colorado Rockies and Arizona Diamondbacks during spring training, as well as for the Salt River Rafters of the Arizona Fall League, the WNBA's Phoenix Mercury and previously the Arizona Rattlers of the Indoor Football League. I also work in a number of roles for MLB.com, plus I'm a voice over artist. Prior to joining halfwheel, I covered the Phoenix and national cigar scene for Examiner.com, and was an editor for Cigar Snob magazine.