A new smoking ban will be approved before Devils Lake inhabitants will accept it by voting it.

Richard Johnson, vice president declared that commissioners voted 3-2 for to put it to a vote instead of passing a ban themselves. Of course no date has been putted while it could happen during the general election by vote in November.

Public health supporters at the Lake Region Tobacco Free Coalition sent a study and, on the essential basis of great support, and asked the authorities to pass a ban that would be superior to the state ban.

The state ban will prohibit smoking in enclosed bars in restaurants and in other public places.

The alliance’s investigation, leaded by Keating Research, found 67 percent of Devils Lake area adults which wanted a ban and 66 percent were against smoking ban.

Mr. Johnson explained that bar owners and other businesses which were affected by ban asked for the commission to let the businesses to decide what to do instead of passing a new legislation.

So, Mr. Johnson and Commissioners Rick Morse and Craig Stromme decided to put the issue to a vote.

The same situation was in Grand Forks which achieves a dissimilar result with a small majority of the City Council voting to accept the ban instead of taking a vote from public.

The Grand Forks Tobacco Free Coalition had also made an investigation, which found then that 75 percent of adults in the city wanted to prohibit cigarettes smoking in bars and 83 percent wanted a ban in other public places.

So, Richard Johnson hopes that the new city ban will goes into effect starting with August 1st. approximately all bar owners have been collecting signatures to put the issue to a vote, perhaps in November.

The next step in Devils Lake is a new ordinance to be planned by City Attorney Tom Traynor. Mr. Johnson added that smoking ban legislation will have more effect when it will be voted by public – smokers and even non-smokers.