COLUMBIA - Since the Health Department has only seen a few complaints, does that mean the smoking ban is working?
"Yeah, there will be the occasional people that try and hide it.
They'll hold a cigarette underneath the table or just try and go off in
a section of the bar that's really not noticeable and try to smoke a
cigarette," said Palmer.
Palmer was unaware that there is a hotline to call to report the violators.
The smoking ban is a complaint driven ordinance. This means that citizens have to report violations for action to be taken. Most other community members interviewed said they wouldn't call the hotline even if they did see a violation. And the odds of anyone showing up to issue a warning or ticket appear to be minimal, since complaints are only answered during business hours Monday through Friday.To report smoking ban violations, call the Environmental Health Hotline at 573-874-7339
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