The Folsom City Council has instructed city staff to draft an expansion to the city’s smoking ban that would make it illegal to light up in an apartment or on the patio of a restaurant or bar.

Should the proposal come to pass, smoking would be immediately banned in newly constructed apartments, while existing apartments would be given a phase-in period which is still to be determined.

The Sacramento Bee reports that at Tuesday night’s meeting, despite some contentions that the moves would be an overreach of the government and a violation of people’s civil rights, the directive went forward.

A timeline for city attorney Bruce Cline to return with the proposal was not established.

Folsom is home to just over 73,000 residents and is located about 23 miles northwest of Sacramento.

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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.