IRVING (1080 KRLD)- You can add Irving to the list of cities where you can no longer legally light up indoors.
The Irving City Council voted Thursday night to adopt an anti-smoking ordinance.
When the ordinance goes into effect in 30 days, smoking in Irving will be limited to private residences, tobacco-related businesses, outdoor patios and outdoor areas of golf courses.
Smoking will be prohibited in any location where food and drinks are served, including BYOB establishments.
Prior to the vote, three people addressed the council, urging it to pass the ordinance.
"It will protect all workers in Irving from harmful indoor exposure to secondhand smoke and lead to longer and healthier lives for all who live, work and have fun in the great city of Irving," said Chris LeTourneau, regional senior vice president and senior executive director of the American Heart Association's Dallas division, with offices in Irving.
Stephen Love, the president and CEO of the DFW Hospital Council, told the council that it had an economic incentive to pass a smoke-free ordinance.
"I know of some companies that won't hold their annual meetings in Irving," Love said, "because you don't have a smoke free ordinance."
Dr. Philip Huang, director of Dallas County Health and Human Services, says people these days are surprised that smoking is actually allowed in some areas.
"You go out to a small town in Texas where they still allow that, and someone lights up next to them. And they say, 'I forgot that we used to allow that.' And it's sort of shocking to them," says Dr. Huang.
The city council passed the ordinance unanimously without any discussion among members.
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