Smoking bans gaining ground in states, cities
Pub Date: 7/1/2006
Efforts to ban smoking in any buildings accessible by the public, including restaurants and taverns, continue on many fronts around the nation. Here are a few current examples.
Wisconsin
A state-wide smoking bill was defeated in the Wisconsin Senate. Opponents of the bill sought its defeat because they said it would preempt tougher ordinances implemented at the local level. The bill was favored by the hospitality industry.
It would have changed state law regarding if and where smoking could occur in a restaurant and in bowling allies and would have prohibited localities from enacting more draconian standards. Instead, the state has dozens of different ordinances which vary widely from community to community.
Press accounts were noticeably one-sided, presenting the positions and statements of opponents almost exclusively.
Indiana
The Seymour, Ind., Common Council voted 5-2 May 23 to enact a reasonable smoking control law in that community.
The law would prohibit smoking in all enclosed spaces with these exceptions: private homes except when used as a child care, adult day care or health care center, designated smoking rooms in hotels, retail tobacco stores, private clubs, bars and outdoor areas of places of employment. Violators would be fined $50.
Social reform activists seem all but assured of qualifying for the ballot a state-wide total smoking ban initiative in Arizona.
The law would: prohibit smoking in enclosed public places and places
of employment including sports arenas, hotels, motels, restaurants, bars and bowling alleys. The law would allow smoking outdoors as well as inside private residences or automobiles, retail tobacco stores, veterans or fraternal clubs that are private and not open to public, outdoor patios and American Indian lands.
Smoking would apparently be allowed in the warm-weather state on outdoor patios at bars, and municipalities would be allowed to impose even stricter standards, but none more lenient.
Illinois
The Urbana, Ill., city council, like its neighbor Champaign, voted 5-1 June 6 to enact a total workplace smoking ban, effective for all businesses July 1 with the exception of taverns which have until Jan. 1, 2007 to comply.
Bar owners there are reportedly exploring smoking areas outside their building for customers who choose to smoke.
Source: The Montana Tavern Times, July, 2006, published monthly by Continental Communications, 125 W. Granite St., Suite 102, Butte, MT 59701.