County Is Clear On Library Smoking Ban

Come Monday, the air around Southwest Minneapolis's two public libraries may start to smell a bit different.

They are one of the more than 40 where tobacco products will be prohibited as of Aug. 1.

"The policy is intended to reduce the exposure to secondhand smoke, reduce hazardous tobacco use among visitors and employees, and uphold the county's commitment to enhancing the health of its residents," according to information from the county.

Cigarettes, cigars and chewing tobacco will not be allowed in buildings, grounds, parking ramps and lots, in county-owned vehicles and in personal vehicles on county property.

The ban does not include drivers on county roads, psychiatric patients in a certain area of Hennepin County Medical Center or "tobacco use done as part of a traditional spiritual or cultural ceremony that has prior approval by the county," according to the new policy.

A county policy previously banned tobacco in buildings and within 45 feet of ground-level entrances.

In March, the Hennepin County Board of Commissioners approved the more strict ban in a vote of 6-1. The one dissenting vote was Commissioner Jeff Johnson, who said it goes too far.

"There's a point at which government can no longer prevent people from making poor personal decisions," he said, according to an MPR News report. "And we're all going to disagree on where that point is. But I would argue that it's short of banning it in your own car."

Anyone who repeatedly violates the policy could be charged with a petty misdemeanor, the new policy states. Employees who violate the policy could be disciplined by their supervisor.