Current law prohibits cities and towns from passing laws against smoking in public places that would be more strict than state law.
The proposal adopted Tuesday by the Oklahoma State Board of Health and health departments in Tulsa and Oklahoma City calls for eliminating that prohibition.
One example is a [image-nocss] current state law that allows some restaurants to allow smoking if they have a separately ventilated room. If the law were repealed, local ordinances could essentially be approved that would ban all smoking in restaurants.
State Health Commissioner Terry Cline said that some communities believe stricter smoking bans would encourage economic development, said the report.
Mike Thornbrugh, spokesperson for QuikTrip Corp., said the company opposes the plan because it would be forced to comply with laws that would vary from city to city. "The problem with their request is that it would create a myriad of issues that retailers have to deal with, different taxation rates, different architectural designs of your facilities, locations of your facilities and on and on," he said.
He added, "It makes no sense to operate with different rules from one jurisdiction to the next. They should be the same and consistent. And, it doesn't affect everyone. The tribes are exempt."QuikTrip is a privately held corporation.It is a leading marketer of motor fuel and convenience store merchandise. The company currently owns and operates 560 retail outlets in nine states.
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