Smoke ‘em if you’ve got ‘em this summer, because after August smoking will be illegal in all businesses located within the police jurisdictions of Orange Beach and Gulf Shores. After August, smokers will have to go outside, at least 10 feet away from the front door of the establishment to light up.

Members of both city councils cited health concerns as the primary reason for enacting the smoking ban. Both cities held public hearings on the issue and council members weighed the property rights of business owners with the health risks of second-hand smoke. By their votes, city council members determined the health risks outweighed the property rights.

Surprisingly, the Alabama Restaurant Association supported the total ban on smoking. In a letter sent to Orange Beach, the Association maintained that if bars (those establishments that serve alcohol as their primary means of revenue) were allowed to offer smokers a place to light-up indoors, it would be detrimental to restaurants that offer drinks incidental to their food.

One of the very few exceptions in both cities’ ordinances is for specialty tobacco shops, which is good news for at least one business owner in Orange Beach and Gulf Shores. He had just received approval in April to open a specialty cigar store at The Wharf in Orange Beach. His customers will still be able to light-up in his establishment when it opens.

So, as the old saying goes, “Smoke ‘em if you’ve got ‘em,” because you won’t be able to do so for much longer along Alabama’s Gulf Coast.