Anne Arundel County restaurant owners shouldn?t worry about being forced to pack up the ashtrays any time soon.
As neighboring Howard County wrestles with another proposal to ban smoking in bars and restaurants, Anne Arundel lawmakers said smoke-free laws aren?t on the radar screen yet.
County Council Chairman Ed Reilly said prohibiting smoking in dining establishments would “create an unfair island in the county.”
“People could jump to Annapolis or Kent Island or Baltimore City, and that could hurt those in the business community on the fringes,” Reilly said.
He said he supports a statewide ban, and said he would introduce a council resolution asking his fellow lawmakers to join him in backing such a law.
Montgomery and Prince George?s counties and the District of Columbia have all enacted smoking bans for restaurants and bars.
The proposed Howard County bill would require compliance by June 2007 and would extend existing smoking bans for truck stops and commercial catering halls. Lighting up would also be prohibited in enclosed outdoor dining areas.
The Clean Indoor Air Act, the statewide ban on smoking in bars and restaurants, died in committee during the last General Assembly session, and has met a similar fate each of the last six times it was introduced.
“There hasn?t been a real call for it, so until that would happen, it wouldn?t be discussed in the [county] administration,” said Matt Diehl, spokesman for Anne Arundel County Executive Janet Owens.
Owens continues to recuperate at home after planned surgery last week.
In addition to a long history of tobacco farming in the southern reaches of the county, Anne Arundel also struggles with one of the highest cancer rates in the state. The county banned smoking in offices and schools in 1993, and in 2003 it banned smoking in public parks.
