BOONEVILLE – Businesses and individuals in Booneville who opposed passage of a smoking ban in public places in the city can continue as usual, with Tuesday’s defeat of a smoking ordinance in the city.

By a vote of 3-2, the Booneville Board of Aldermen voted down an ordinance that would ban smoking in public places.

A report in Wednesday’s Daily Journal said the ordinance passed after the Daily Journal reporter misheard the outcome of the vote.

The motion to pass the ordinance was made by Alderman David Bolen and seconded by Alderman Wilda Pounds. Aldermen Harold Eaton, Mark McCoy and Jeff Williams voted against the measure.

Aldermen who were contacted by the Daily Journal chose not to comment.

The vote came after several weeks of deliberation before an April 5 public hearing and several weeks after the hearing.

During the hearing a number of city residents and business owners voiced opposition to approval of the ordinance, which was fashioned after one that passed in Corinth in November 2007.

Business owners said they felt it should be up to a business to decide if smoking would be permitted, and how to accommodate individuals who choose not to smoke.

Several nonsmokers who opposed the ordinance said although they do not smoke, passing the law would be another infringement on individual rights.

During the public hearing the Mississippi Tobacco-Free Coalition made a presentation about the negative effects of secondhand smoke, and the chief executive officer of Baptist Memorial Hospital-Booneville stated the hospital’s support for passing the ordinance.

Contact Lena Mitchell at (662) 287-9822 or lena.mitchell@djournal.com.