NEWS- Surfside Beach, SC - Smoking Ban

By Thema Ponton SURFSIDE BEACH -- After a spirited public comment session, Surfside Beach Town Council voted to approve the draft ordinance to ban smoking in public places. Council members heard from business owners who said their businesses will suffer if people cannot smoke and from representatives from the American Lung Association who say second-hand smoke is a killer. Surfside Beach business owner, Nicholas Penepent, says he moved from New York to Surfside Beach because of the smoking ban in public places in New York City. Penepent says he is a heavy smoker and feels he and anybody else who wants to smoke has the right. “My rules when I set up my business where I could do what I want, I could sell what I want, I could do what I wanted in my business, till that point when they start paying my bills, I'll let them make the decisions,” Penepent said. Surfside Beach Town Council Member Judy Tuttle says smoking is a privilege and the ordinance to ban smoking in public places is about protecting those who have no choice about whether they want to breathe in cigarette smoke. Janet Bamberger says she is thrilled council passed the ordinance and says they had no other choice than the one they made. “A person's right to life is much more important that somebody's so-called right to smoke,” Bamberger said. But not all Council Members are in support of the ban. Councilman Bill McKown says it is an attack on personal rights and he is not in support of opposing civil liberties. Tuttle said everyone has the right to clean air and she wants Surfside Beach to be able to live up to their motto of being "The Family Beach."

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