The politics behind the decision is complicated, but the result is not. The proposed smoking ban for St. Louis County is dead. The County Council has killed the idea proposed by Chairman Kurt Odenwald. The Council wouldn’t even agree to a proposal to place the ban on the ballot for voters to decide. Odenwald had hoped a new report from the U.S. Surgeon General on the harm of secondhand smoke would make the difference. Some businesses, in particular bars and restaurants, have come out strongly against the ban.
