For those wanting to smoke in public in the western North Carolina town of Canton, you are going to have to be careful where you step. Last week, the Canton Board of Aldermen amended its tobacco ordinance banning smoking on city grounds, within city buildings and within 25 feet of any door that goes into a public building.

As of now, smoking will be banned on sidewalks, although Town Manager Seth Hendler-Voss indicated he would likely designate most sidewalks to be exempt areas, something his title gives him the authority to do.

Violators will be subject to a $50 fine if they continue to smoke after being informed by a city official that they are violating the law and asked to stop.

Canton is located 15 miles west of Asheville in Haywood County. It has a population of under 5,000 residents.

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Charlie Minato

I am an editor and co-founder of halfwheel.com/Rueda Media, LLC. I previously co-founded and published TheCigarFeed, one of the two predecessors of halfwheel. I have written about the cigar industry for more than a decade, covering everything from product launches to regulation to M&A. In addition, I handle a lot of the behind-the-scenes stuff here at halfwheel. I enjoy playing tennis, watching boxing, falling asleep to the Le Mans 24, wearing sweatshirts year-round and eating gyros. echte liebe.