If you’re looking to light up a cigarette in the City of Sioux Falls, you may soon have fewer options. A new proposal is looking to ban outdoor tobacco use at all city owned property.



The proposal would not allow people to use tobacco outside at public owned places like parks, golf courses, libraries, bike trails, the Denny Sanford PREMIER Center and the Convention Center. The ban includes smokeless tobacco and e-cigarettes. The proposal was put together by a committee who says it’s for improving the health of Sioux Falls.



It’s a sight the City doesn’t want to see, a hand with a cigarette. The number of smokers is dropping, but officials want to it decline even more. According to Mary Michaels of Sioux Falls Health Department, tobacco use is still the number one preventable cause of death in the community. She’s also concerned about the number of high school students who smoke, and how the use of e-cigarette has doubled among middle school students. That’s why she wants to help make a change.



“We’re looking at all tobacco products for that reason. Not only for the health of the individual but the health of the overall community,” Michaels said.



Currently the City has a ban in parks with a playground, and if there is a youth activity going on. Now, this proposal would expand that to all publicly owned property. That includes the parking lot of places like the Denny Sanford PREMIER Center.



Levi Hansen has been smoking for years. He says it’s a choice, and he doesn’t like the idea of being told where to smoke.



“Growing up you learn to have an etiquette as a cigarette smoker. You do go somewhere else and you smoke away from people that don’t appreciate it. So now that they’re saying now that you’re somewhere else we don’t want you smoking there either that’s stupid,” Hansen said.



Micahels says this ban still leaves options for places where people can light up.



“There’s still other places that people can choose to smoke whether that’s their homes, other properties that the city doesn’t have authority over but what we need to do as a city is look for those opportunities to create those environments that encourages people not to use tobacco,” Michaels said.



Michaels says the proposed ordinance does give law enforcement the opportunity to fine a person smoking at public owned property, but she hopes the awareness of the policy will be enough of a deterrent to stop people from grabbing a cigarette.

