Cherry Hill officials will make a final call Monday night on a proposed ban on tobacco that would outlaw smoking and using any other tobacco products at all public buildings and grounds throughout the township.
The ban, which comes as part of an amended ordinance, passed unanimously at its introduction earlier this month and would become law in mid-December, should it pass final approval.
Members of the public can comment on the ordinance during its public hearing as part of the township council meeting at 7:30 p.m. at the municipal building on Mercer Street.
The move effectively creates vast swaths of smoke-free zones across the township, something Mayor Chuck Cahn touted as a major benefit of the ban.
“This is about protecting our children,” he said at a public announcement 10 days ago. “Cherry Hill residents deserve to breathe clean air.”
If the ordinance becomes final, there would be a 20-day period before it becomes law, and a 30-day educational period before the ban would be enforced in earnest, starting roughly in mid-January.
Unlike the 2005 council resolution banning smoking, which the ordinance would replace, there are enforcement powers included in this ban. Fines of up to $150 for a first offense, up to $250 for a second and up to $500 for subsequent offenses are included, though township officials have indicated police won’t be on cigarette patrols.
There are at least 3 tobacco shoppes and a cigar club that I know of in Cherry Hill. Will these establishments now be subject to the new law? Two of these are places where a person can go to sit and relax while smoking a cigar or a pipe. The other 2 are places where you can go in with a lighted cigar, cigarette or pipe that you have already been smoking in your car, or you can light up while in those establishments. In all but one the customers and employees are people who smoke cigars. What about sidewalks in Cherry Hill. Will a person (age 19 and over in NJ), be able to smoke while walking down the street after the proposed law goes into effect?
Private businesses aren't affected, nor would smoking on a sidewalk.