EL CAJON, Calif. -- El Cajon is on its way to codifying the latest in California anti-smoking culture -- making it unacceptable to light up anywhere one might encounter a nonsmoker.

The City Council passed the ordinance on its first reading Tuesday night, building on similar laws around the region that have banned smoking in parks and sidewalk cafes.

A second reading is set for Aug. 14.

The idea, according to council members, is to protect the public from secondhand smoke. Last year, the state became the first in the nation to declare secondhand tobacco smoke a toxin.

El Cajon has led the charge against smoking in San Diego County, becoming the first city to outlaw smoking in parks. It also requires businesses that sell tobacco to get a city license.

The state became the first in the nation last year to declare secondhand tobacco smoke a toxin.

The El Cajon vote was unanimous, with Mayor Mark Lewis, Mayor Pro Tem Bob McClellan and council members Dick Ramos and Gary Kendrick present.

The ordinance is set to take effect Sept. 13. Fines could be as high as $500.

Under the ordinance, smoking on a city sidewalk would be forbidden. Smoking outside office buildings, however, would be OK, as long as smokers were in a designated area where the smoke would be unlikely to waft into the path of nonsmokers.