Columbus residents will get to speak up on Oct. 16 at a public forum on a proposed no-smoking ordinance.

The city council agreed Tuesday to the forum.

The council heard an emotional appeal Tuesday from Columbus resident Alice Clement.

Holding up a newspaper article from 1992, Clement said she earlier worked to abolish smoking in public places.

“The challenge is to let others know our concern about their welfare. We’ll all be rewarded with better health; it’s a wise decision not to have smoking in restaurants, wherever.

“We got smoking out of the (Lowndes County) courthouse and (Baptist Memorial Hospital-Golden Triangle recently) said no smoking on campus, whatsoever. It takes all of us to be concerned about someone’s health,” Clement said.

The forum will be held at 5 p.m. at the Columbus Municipal Complex during a regularly-scheduled council meeting.

A growing number of cities across Mississippi have prohibited people from lighting up in most public places, including restaurants and shopping malls.

Some cities, like Madison, have persuaded business owners to voluntarily ban smoking.