Initiative 901: Smoking ban sails to victory
Soon, smokers will be asking for more than a light.
They're also going to need a tape measure.
A proposal to ban smoking inside public places and workplaces sailed to victory last night as expected despite a controversial rule that forbids lighting up within 25 feet of doors, windows and vents. Passers-by are exempted.
The win for Initiative 901 gives Washington the nation's strictest statewide smoking ban, barring smoking in places such as bars, restaurants, clubs, bowling alleys and non-tribal casinos. The measure takes effect in 30 days.
"We are proud, happy and delighted," said Michael Sullivan, spokesman for the American Cancer Society, a sponsor of the measure. "People ... stood up and said we believe this is the right thing to do. We know the health impact of secondhand smoke and we're proud to stand along (with) others who are trying to protect their community."
Dave Wilkinson, a security worker at a Renton bowling alley who led the minimal opposition to the initiative, said he wasn't surprised by the outcome.
"It kind of comes back to the fact that we just didn't have the money to get out and inform the voters," Wilkinson said.
A loud cheer rose from the crowd when the first election results came in at Kells Irish Restaurant & Pub in Seattle, where supporters of the measure celebrated a substantial early lead that held throughout the night.
Meanwhile, just outside the door, Anne Smith, 29, and her stepsister, Mary Swanson, 26, were puffing hungrily.
Nevertheless, they said they support the ban. "I do think it should pass -- as a smoker," said Swanson. "I smoked 10 years, I quit, and when I started again, it was in a bar."
She admitted, however, to a hankering for what will soon be the good old days. "I'd like there to be two or three underground places where I could still smoke."
"It's called your house or your car," interjected Smith, who had no idea she'd walked into the pro-law rally, as she put it.
"Maybe I'll quit with the law," Smith added. "That'd be a good thing."
Unlike Washington's measure, most other statewide bans exempt some businesses, such as bars, private clubs, card rooms and cigar lounges. And no state has a deeper no-smoking buffer than Washington's proposed 25-foot rule. (Some cities do.)
Under the ban, Washington businesses can seek waivers from the 25-foot buffer if they can show that smoke wouldn't infiltrate the business.
The ban will not apply to tribal lands, including casinos.
The measure authorizes local health departments to enforce the ban on businesses with fines or license restrictions.
Roger Valdez, manager of the Tobacco Prevention Program for Public Health -- Seattle & King County, said officials are more interested in clearing the air than handing out fines.
"Our plans are really education, education, education and then enforcement," Valdez said.
Local law enforcement agencies will be responsible for enforcing the initiative against individuals, with violators subject to a $100 fine.
The proposal was largely sponsored by health care interests. The American Cancer Society contributed $521,000 of the campaign's $1.38 million.
Wilkinson and his allies raised a little more than $12,000, largely from bars and non-tribal casinos
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/247635_smoking09.html[/ur]
Soon, smokers will be asking for more than a light.
They're also going to need a tape measure.
A proposal to ban smoking inside public places and workplaces sailed to victory last night as expected despite a controversial rule that forbids lighting up within 25 feet of doors, windows and vents. Passers-by are exempted.
The win for Initiative 901 gives Washington the nation's strictest statewide smoking ban, barring smoking in places such as bars, restaurants, clubs, bowling alleys and non-tribal casinos. The measure takes effect in 30 days.
"We are proud, happy and delighted," said Michael Sullivan, spokesman for the American Cancer Society, a sponsor of the measure. "People ... stood up and said we believe this is the right thing to do. We know the health impact of secondhand smoke and we're proud to stand along (with) others who are trying to protect their community."
Dave Wilkinson, a security worker at a Renton bowling alley who led the minimal opposition to the initiative, said he wasn't surprised by the outcome.
"It kind of comes back to the fact that we just didn't have the money to get out and inform the voters," Wilkinson said.
A loud cheer rose from the crowd when the first election results came in at Kells Irish Restaurant & Pub in Seattle, where supporters of the measure celebrated a substantial early lead that held throughout the night.
Meanwhile, just outside the door, Anne Smith, 29, and her stepsister, Mary Swanson, 26, were puffing hungrily.
Nevertheless, they said they support the ban. "I do think it should pass -- as a smoker," said Swanson. "I smoked 10 years, I quit, and when I started again, it was in a bar."
She admitted, however, to a hankering for what will soon be the good old days. "I'd like there to be two or three underground places where I could still smoke."
"It's called your house or your car," interjected Smith, who had no idea she'd walked into the pro-law rally, as she put it.
"Maybe I'll quit with the law," Smith added. "That'd be a good thing."
Unlike Washington's measure, most other statewide bans exempt some businesses, such as bars, private clubs, card rooms and cigar lounges. And no state has a deeper no-smoking buffer than Washington's proposed 25-foot rule. (Some cities do.)
Under the ban, Washington businesses can seek waivers from the 25-foot buffer if they can show that smoke wouldn't infiltrate the business.
The ban will not apply to tribal lands, including casinos.
The measure authorizes local health departments to enforce the ban on businesses with fines or license restrictions.
Roger Valdez, manager of the Tobacco Prevention Program for Public Health -- Seattle & King County, said officials are more interested in clearing the air than handing out fines.
"Our plans are really education, education, education and then enforcement," Valdez said.
Local law enforcement agencies will be responsible for enforcing the initiative against individuals, with violators subject to a $100 fine.
The proposal was largely sponsored by health care interests. The American Cancer Society contributed $521,000 of the campaign's $1.38 million.
Wilkinson and his allies raised a little more than $12,000, largely from bars and non-tribal casinos
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/247635_smoking09.html[/ur]
Or maybe my point was that people shouldn't trip so much about what others do, and they should stop trying to control everything that goes on in their life.