Obtaining a waiver to sidestep the District’s impending smoking ban would not be nearly as difficult for businesses as antismoking activists had hoped, if rules proposed by outgoing Mayor Anthony Williams, long an opponent of the prohibition, are adopted.
The District’s ban takes effect Jan. 2 in virtually all workplaces, including bars and restaurants. On Tuesday, Williams submitted to the D.C. Council the regulations for executing the law, a proposal that details everything from the language on “no smoking” signs to the exemption process. The council has 60 days to adopt or reject the rules.
Under the proposal, business owners would be eligible for a hardship waiver with proof of a 5 percent sales reduction over three consecutive months, plus evidence of reduced staffing levels, food or material purchases or alcohol sales. The waiver, administered by a new five-member review board, would allow smoking in up to 25 percent of the facility.
New York, widely considered a model for smoking bans, requires a 15 percent sales reduction for a waiver.
“While I did not support the original legislation, I am committed to ensuring that the District’s prosperous business environment, which is dominated by the hospitality industry, does not suffer indiscriminately because of this policy decision,” Williams wrote in a letter to Council Chair Linda Cropp. “Businesses need protections in place when the law goes into effect on January 2.”
Antismoking advocates, who oppose the waivers altogether, were disappointed.
“We were hoping it would mirror New York state,” said Renee McPhatter, director of the Cancer Action Network.
Though the waiver issue ended in their favor in the proposed regulations, the hospitality industry also has its concerns. Andrew Kline, general counsel for the Restaurant Association of Metropolitan Washington, said the organization’s push for transferable waivers was rejected, as was its request to secure some businesses an exemption before the ban is even implemented.
“We appreciate the mayor’s concern for the hospitality industry and his appreciation of the tremendous industry that we are in terms of contributions to the city’s coffers as well as the community,” said Lynne Breaux, the association’s president.
Hotel rooms, tobacco bars and tobacco shops are exempt from the ban, as are outdoor patios. Williams declined to establish buffer zones outside of workplaces covered by the ban, which is expected to force smokers to the sidewalks.
