Myrtle Beach, a smokers safe haven?

TheDigitelMYR 

The City of Myrtle Beach looks to be the lone wolf when it comes to a citywide smoking ban, a good percentage of bars and restaurants have no smoking or offer smoking only in outside patios.

Surfside Beach was the first to go smoke-free along the Grand Strand, followed by the town of Atlantic Beach. Back in July 2011 it was reported that Florence would go smoke-free in November, North Myrtle Beach's smoke-free ordinance went into place this past Wednesday, March 7th and Conway is looking to go smoke-free in the near future.

In December of 2011, the Myrtle Beach City Council made it clear that they weren't interested in a proposed ban. 

So, what's Myrtle Beach to do?

Saturday, March 10, 2012 WMBF News ran a story asking Myrtle Beach restaurants their thoughts on being, "flanked by cities to the north and south" with smoking bans and how it might affect them. Being the lone city surrounded by smoke-free ordinances could be a blessing for the city of Myrtle Beach, the only place on the Grand Strand where you can freely light-up in a bar. But, really, is that the message the city wants?

The City of Myrtle Beach has been trying, for years, to shed their sometimes unfair image as being the center of debauchery, shunning nicknames like the Redneck Riviera and the Dirty Myrtle. Replacing some of the decades worth of tack that clogged the cities landscape, revitalizing downtown and pouring millions into a new boardwalk, and for what? To stay headstrong over pretty much a non-issue around the rest of the country?

The state of South Carolina is one of only 11 states that do not have public smoking bans, two of our neighbors, Georgia and North Carolina have statewide bans; and even Tennessee has a smoking ban for restaurants and non-hospitality workplaces all three of those states cite tobacco as one of their economic backbones. 

via Wikipedia:

As of April 2011, 27 states have banned smoking in all general workplaces and public places, including bars and restaurants (though many of these exempt tobacconists, cigar bars, casinos, private clubs, and/or small workplaces). Seven have enacted smoking bans exempting all adult venues such as bars (and casinos where applicable). GeorgiaIdahoIndiana,NevadaNew HampshireNorth Carolina, and Virginia have particularised state laws banning smoking in specific places but leaving out all others. The remaining 11 states have no statewide smoking bans at all, though many cities and/or counties in those states have enacted local smoking bans to varying degrees (except Oklahoma, which prohibits local governments from regulating smoking at all).

So is this simply a case of South Carolina sticking with our prideful and occasional bouts of libertarianism? Or is it another example of how we are behind the times in the court of public perception and majority opinion? 

What say you Digitel readers? What's South Carolina to do? And more importantly, what should the City of Myrtle Beach do? Will the bans in surrounding cities affect the coughers at tax time? Or will their laissez-faire attitude help them see a boom in smoking aficionados? 

*Full disclosure, we at TheDigitel have been sponsored for months by Smoke-Free Horry. But more interestingly, I myself am a smoker. I'm not proud of it. It is what it is. I know the health risks and I try to be very considerate of non-smokers when I am in their presence.

Full list of smoking laws in South Carolina:

via Wikipedia and as of July 5th, 2010:

  • Aiken, July 14, 2008, banned in all enclosed workplaces, including bars and restaurants; exempts any outside area that is not posted as a non-smoking area, private residences, except when used as a daycare or health care facility, hotel and motel rooms that are designated as smoking rooms, retail tobacco stores, requested private and semiprivate smoking rooms in nursing homes and long-term care facilities, private clubs except for events that admit the general public, designated outdoor smoking areas, theatrical stage productions when smoking is essential to the performance, personal vehicles, including times when they are used for employment purposes.[306]
  • Aiken County, September 16, 2008, banned in all enclosed workplaces, including bars and restaurants.[4]
  • Beaufort, May 27, 2008, banned in all enclosed workplaces, including bars and restaurants[307]
  • Beaufort County, January 10, 2007, banned in all workplaces, including restaurants and bars, within unincorporated areas of Beaufort County.[4]
  • Camden, September 22, 2008, banned in all enclosed workplaces, including bars and restaurants[4]
  • Cayce, June 1, 2010, banned in all enclosed workplaces, including bars and restaurants[4]
  • Charleston, July 23, 2007, banned in all enclosed workplaces, including bars and restaurants; exempts cigar bars, theatrical performances involving smoking, and 25% of designated hotel and motel smoking rooms.[304]
  • Clemson, July 1, 2008, banned in all bars and restaurants, but not in all other workplaces[4]
  • Columbia, October 1, 2008, banned in all enclosed workplaces, including bars and restaurants[4]
  • Easley, January 1, 2009, banned in all enclosed workplaces, including bars and restaurants[4]
  • Edisto Beach, March 1, 2009, banned in all enclosed workplaces, including bars and restaurants[4]
  • Fort Mill, August 1, 2009, banned in all enclosed workplaces, including bars and restaurants[4]
  • Greenville, January 1, 2007, banned in all enclosed workplaces, including bars and restaurants[4] and has placed a ban for outdoor smoking within city limits
  • Hilton Head Island, May 1, 2007, banned in all bars and restaurants, but not in all other workplaces[4]
  • Isle of Palms, January 1, 2009, banned in all bars and restaurants, but not in all other workplaces[4]
  • Lexington, October 3, 2009, banned in all enclosed workplaces, including bars and restaurants[4]
  • Lexington County, January 1, 2010, banned in all enclosed workplaces, including bars and restaurants[4]
  • Mount Pleasant, September 1, 2007, banned in all bars, restaurants, and private clubs, but not in all other workplaces[4]
  • North Augusta, August 1, 2009, banned in all enclosed workplaces, including bars and restaurants[4]
  • Pickens, May 1, 2009, banned in all enclosed workplaces, including bars and restaurants[304]
  • Pine Ridge, January 1, 2010, banned in all enclosed workplaces, including bars and restaurants[4]
  • Ravenel, April 27, 2010, banned in all bars and restaurants, but not in all other workplaces[4]
  • Richland County, October 1, 2009, banned in all enclosed workplaces, including bars and restaurants[4]
  • Rock Hill, May 1, 2009, banned in all enclosed workplaces, including bars and restaurants[304]
  • Springdale, January 1, 2010, banned in all enclosed workplaces, including bars and restaurants[4]
  • Sullivan's Island, July 20, 2006, banned in all bars and restaurants, but not in all other workplaces[4]
  • Sumter, April 20, 2009, banned in all enclosed workplaces, including bars and restaurants[4]
  • Surfside Beach, October 1, 2007, banned in all enclosed workplaces, including bars and restaurants[4]
  • Walterboro, August 1, 2008, banned in all enclosed workplaces, including bars and restaurants[4]
  • West Columbia, June 1, 2010, banned in all enclosed workplaces, including bars and restaurants[4]
  • York County, May 1, 2009, banned in all enclosed workplaces, including bars and restaurants[304]

 

Localities in South Carolina with smoking bans that do not include all bars and restaurants (2 total): 

  • Bluffton, January 10, 2007, banned in all enclosed workplaces except bars and restaurants[4]
  • Liberty, November 9, 2006, banned in all restaurants, but not bars or all other workplaces[4]

 

Localities in South Carolina that rejected a smoking ban in some manner (1 total):