Highland Heights to become latest NKY city to ban smoking

Brooks Sutherland, Cincinnati Enquirer
·2 min read
The Northern Kentucky city of Highland Heights voted to pass a smoke-free ordinance on Tuesday.
The Northern Kentucky city of Highland Heights voted to pass a smoke-free ordinance on Tuesday.

Highland Heights will join a growing list of Northern Kentucky cities to ban smoking in places of employment and in public spaces.

A smoke-free ordinance will be in effect 90 days from Tuesday after the city's council nudged it to pass in a 3-2 vote. The legislation follows in the footsteps of similar ordinances passed by Williamstown in 2019, Dayton in 2022 and Bellevue earlier this year.

While Kentucky remains one of just 12 states that hasn't imposed a statewide smoking ban indoors, dozens of cities have taken measures into their own hands in the interest of public health and have passed legislation locally.

Smoking in Northern Kentucky: Why experts feel Kentucky is turning the dial on smoking bans

"Community health is a true priority for our city’s leadership,” Highland Heights Mayor Greg Meyers said in a news release. "Passing this ordinance is another way the city council demonstrates its commitment to advancing that priority every day. We encourage other cities to do the same.”

The work to pass smoking bans has been spearheaded by the Breathe Easy NKY campaign. Advocates of Breathe Easy have cited public health data on the impacts of secondhand smoke in pushing for smoking bans. Critics of smoking bans in Northern Kentucky meanwhile have argued the decision should be up to individual states. Kentucky's deep-rooted history with tobacco has also made bans more difficult to pass than in other states, experts said.

"Cities in Campbell County are clearly gaining momentum on this important issue for the region, as they work to improve overall health and economic status,” St. Elizabeth Healthcare President and CEO Garren Colvin said in a statement. “We congratulate Highland Heights leadership for doing what is best for our community."

According to the latest data from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Kentucky's overall smoking rate is 21% compared to the national average of 15%. In America, about 1 in 10 people smoke cigarettes today. But in Kentucky, 1 in 4 still smoke, the data show.

This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Highland Heights is latest NKY city to vote to ban indoor smoking