Galveston council rejects smoking ban February 27, 2006 Houston Chronicle (Internet / Print) 02/24/06 http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/metropolitan/3682342.html Smoking will still be allowed in restaurants and bars after the Galveston City Council rejected a comprehensive smoking ban. The council voted not to change the city's current smoking ordinance, which prohibits smoking in public buildings and city parks but allows restaurants to maintain smoking and non-smoking areas. Dr. William Au, a professor of preventive medicine at the University of Texas Medical Branch, said the smoking ban was a matter of health, not the rights of smokers or nonsmokers. "It is an important decision and calls for leadership," he said. « Back | The Newsroom »