No butts about it
State may ban public smoking

By Scott Nicholson

A ban on public smoking in North Carolina is headed for a possible General Assembly vote, with Watauga County legislators lining up as sponsors for the bill.

Rep. Cullie Tarleton (D-93) one of 26 House of Representatives co-sponsors and Sen. Steve Goss (D-45) one of 14 Senate sponsors for the bill, which was debated by the House Committee on Health Thursday without a vote.

The bill would revise a current law banning smoking in state government buildings to include all “public places and places of employment.” It is based on the finding in the proposed bill that reads, “The General Assembly finds that secondhand smoke has been proven to cause cancer, heart disease, and asthma attacks in both smokers and non-smokers. In 2006, a report issued by the United States Surgeon General stated that the scientific evidence indicates that there is no risk-free level of exposure.”

The bill would also allow local governments to enact local smoking laws in their jurisdictions that are more restrictive than state laws.

Terri Van Dyke, director of the Northwest Tobacco Prevention Coalition at the Appalachian District Health Department, said her agency is not involved in lobbying, but as a public-health issue, tobacco smoke had proven its adverse effects.

“It will eliminate the dangers of secondhand smoke in all workplaces,” Van Dyke said. “A lot of people say it’s smokers’ rights versus public health rights.”

“People have said if it’s a private bar or private place, customers always have the option of coming in. But the employees don’t have an option.”

Van Dyke said the bill would also allow local governments do more to prohibit public smoking. The Boone Town Council adopted a resolution last week supporting the bill.

“There’s no safe level of exposure,” Van Dyke said. “I’m very supportive of smoke-free work sites.”

Tarleton said, despite opposition, the political landscape is more favorable to the bill’s passage.

“I think it’s going to pass this time,” Tarleton said. “There’s still some people who are opposed to it. The dangers of secondhand smoke are now indisputable.

Tarleton said opponents are framing it as an issue of personal freedom and choice, a choice he believes is taken away from those who don’t want exposure to someone else’s smoke.

“My argument is it’s a health issue for young people and for anyone who is exposed to secondhand smoke,” he said.

The bill has some bipartisan support, with a Republican among the primary sponsors. Tarleton said the tobacco industry had lobbied against the bill when it was narrowly defeated in 2007, and said this time there was so much evidence of people developing lung cancer that it was clearly a health issue. He said with the rising cost of health care, the economic impact in the traditionally tobacco-friendly state was negligible.

“Frankly, in the long run, this will save us money,” Tarleton said.

Smoking would be allowed in private residencies unless they provide child- or adult-care services, tobacco shops that derive 75 percent of its revenue from tobacco products, tobacco-manufacturing facilities and designated smoking room in a lodging establishment.

Violations of the ban would be subject to a $50 fine, and those owning or managing a business allowing smoking in violation of the ban could be subject to a $200 fine upon the third violation of the policy.

A similar bill failed the House of Representatives by a 61-55 vote two years ago. About two dozen states have approved laws banning smoking in nearly all public work sites.