Lawmakers who want clean air for those who dine out sent a stern message Thursday to smokers: Find a comfortable spot on the sidewalk to enjoy that puff after dinner. Smoking in bars and restaurants will soon be illegal, lawmakers said.
“We are going to win. This is the right thing to do,” said Del. Barbara Frush, D-Prince George?s County, one of the sponsors of the 2007 Clean Indoor Air Act, the latest incarnation of a bill to ban smoking that has failed for the last four years.
Momentum for indoor smoking bans grew this year when Howard County became the fourth jurisdiction in the state to prohibit smoking in bars and restaurants. Baltimore City and Anne Arundel County councils delayed considering their own local bans in anticipation of a statewide proposal.
Montgomery, Prince George?s, Howard and Talbot counties already have banned smoking in bars and restaurants. And U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., this week outlawed lighting up in the last remaining smokers? sanctuary in the House of Representatives outside of their own private offices.
“This is the year this is going to get to the governor?s desk,” said Sen. Rob Garagiola, D-Montgomery County, one of the Senate sponsors. “The facts are indisputable ? secondhand smoke kills. It causes heart disease and cancer.”
Senate PresidentThomas Mike Miller, D-Calvert, hinted Wednesday during a taped radio interview for WYPR prior to the opening of the General Assembly session that the legislation might make some significant progress toward becoming law this year. In previous years, the bill has died in committee.
“As [senators] get further and further educated on his issue, they?ll support this,” Garagiola said. “The stars are aligned, and we?re going to get this done this year.”
But opponents, including the state Restaurant Association and some lawmakers, have argued that a statewide ban would hurt business by scaring away smokers.
“Businesses shut down every day because of bad management,” said Sen. James Robey, D-Howard County, who presided over the passage of a ban in Howard during the waning days of his term as county executive. “You will not go out of business because you went smoke-free.”
