City Proposes Smoking Ban In Health District Downtown

BIRMINGHAM, AL — The Birmingham City Council may pass a resolution that would ban smoking in the city's healthcare district downtown. The council moved forward Tuesday with a proposal to establish a smoke-free health district, which would ban smoking outside most of the city's downtown hospitals and healthcare facilities.

The ordinance would prohibit smoking outside UAB Medical Center, The Children’s Hospital of Alabama, Cooper Green Mercy Health Services The Jefferson County Board of Health, Southern Research and The Birmingham Veterans Administration Medical Center.

Councilman Hunter Williams told ABC 33/40 that the ordinance proposal came at the request of the leaders of the hospitals and healthcare facilities.

"Anything that we can do to partner with them to help further their mission of a more healthy city, a more healthy metro area, I stand behind them," Williams said. "They're doing excellent work in the city."

The ordinance will be brought up for a public hearing during the October 8th city council meeting.

Other cities have created similar districts around their hospitals. In Charleston, for example, a no-smoking zone was created around Roper Hospital and the Medical University of South Carolina in 2013.