A ban on smoking in all shopping centers could be coming to the East Bay city of Pleasant Hill, as the mayor and city council have suggested that a proposal be drafted for formal consideration.

The San Jose Mercury News reports that the idea has been floated around since last fall, as well as adding electronic cigarettes and vaping devices to the city’s anti-smoking ordinance. City leaders are being encouraged to think as big as possible by the American Cancer Society when it comes to drafting the new ban.

The city still needs to gather feedback from business owners in the affected areas as well as from the public before putting such an idea to a vote.

Pleasant Hill has already banned smoking in and around city-owned facilities and in the majority of workplaces with passage of an ordinance in 2006, and then in 2010 banned smoking in some public places as well as common areas in housing developments with four or more units, unless they were designated for smoking.

The city also has a law that will require landlords to designate half the units in an apartment building as smoke-free by next year.

Pleasant Hill has a population of just under 35,000 people and is located approximately 27 miles northeast of San Francisco.

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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.