Bellflower Council Votes Tough Anti-Smoking Law

The Bellflower City Council this week passed one of the county’s strictest anti-smoking laws, banning smoking in all of the city’s restaurants and in virtually every building to which the public has access.

The ordinance, which is expected to receive final council approval in January, mandates that smoking be prohibited in restaurants, public areas of galleries, libraries and museums, video arcades and meeting rooms open to the public, among other places.

Employers are required to designate smoking areas in work areas and ban smoking in auditoriums, classrooms and elevators. Bars, tobacco stores, malls, private offices, residences and places of worship have been exempted from the law, which is expected to go into effect in February.

Mayor Randy Bomgaars said the council is concerned about the effects of secondhand smoke and felt it had to take a drastic step to protect nonsmokers.