If you want to light up in the City of Mobile, you'll have to be a little more careful about where you do it. Effective Monday, Oct. 1, smoking in public places and in restaurants became a violation of municipal law. Every day, for nearly a year, a woman named Susie smoked her mid-day cigarette on a sidewalk in downtown Mobile. Monday was a little different. "I actually walked out of the building, lit up but then I put it out," said Susie. Some people agree with the ban. They think it benefits the city as a whole.
"There's a lot if people that get offended that smoking is around eating establishments so I'm not opposed to it. I think it's good for the city," said restaurant manager Rob Dearing. The smoking ban passed by the Mobile City Council took effect on Tuesday but not everyone downtown knew or seemed to care. Looking around, it didn't look like it, but Mobile has a smoking ordinance. Some people. like Hammad Rafiq, hadn't even heard about the ban. He walked down Dauphin Street in Mobile with a cigarette in hand.
"I had no idea... but it is a good idea," said Hammad Rafiq. "I support that ban, it is just another reason to stop." Not everyone was happy about the crackdown on smoking. "I mean we are outside in open air. So it shouldn't really bother anybody," said one smoker. Gerard Edwards is a dissenter. He smoked during our interview in Cathedral Square, a public park where smoking is no longer allowed. "It is my right. They can't tell me where I can smoke," said Edwards.
"When are they going to do something about all the people drinking alcohol on the street? It makes me sick to smell that." Forty-five days ago, Mobile City Council members passed a smoking ordinance which bans smoking wherever city money is used to maintain the property including sidewalks and city parks. It also snuffs out smoking in restaurants, even outside. After 8 p.m., smoking is permitted in outside dining areas but they must be a certain distance from the door.
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