Southaven, Miss. Petitioned to Enact Smoking Ban

The city of Southaven, Miss. was formally petitioned on Tuesday to enact a smoking ban, and the Board of Aldermen have agreed to have Mayor Darren Musselwhite, City Administrator Chris Wilson and City Attorney Nick Manley take a look at other nonsmoking laws and draft an ordinance to be considered at May’s monthly meeting.

Members of Tobacco Free Mississippi Coalition asked city officials to create and pass an ordinance that would make the city smoke-free. Southaven does not have any laws in place governing restaurants or other public places.

Musselwhite told The Commercial Appeal that “the number one most expressed concern to me is the fact that our city has not adopted an ordinance to ban smoking in restaurants and other buildings.”

With the directive towards city officials to begin work on an ordinance, the Board of Aldermen should have a proposal presented to them at next month’s meeting.

Southaven is the third largest city in Mississippi, with a population of just over 50,000. Located in the northwest corner of the state, it is considered a suburb of Memphis, Tenn. since it is located just 15 miles south.

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 Major League Baseball, 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.