From: SMOKEFREE@compuserve.com
Date: Thu, 09/11/08
For more info on the PA Clean Indoor Air Act or to report a violation, go
to http://www.dsf.health.state.pa.us/health/cwp/view.asp?q=250974
or call 877-835-9535.
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Butt out: Welcome to a state of cleaner indoor air
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette (editorial)
Thursday, September 11, 2008
http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/08255/911153-192.stm
Take a deep breath. Starting today, 95 percent of Pennsylvania's workplaces
are supposed to become smoke-free.
For the 2 million adults in the state who smoke, the Clean Indoor Air Act
that went into effect at midnight will require them to change their habits.
A cigarette after dinner at a restaurant or a smoke break at the office
will have to be taken outside. Habits are tough to beat so, rather than
simply adjusting where to have that cigarette, why not put the effort into
quitting instead?
The state health department's Web site, www.health.state.pa.us, explains
the new law and also contains a database of smoking-cessation programs
across the state, include two dozen in Allegheny County alone. The American
Cancer Society (cancer.org) and the American Lung Association (lungusa.org)
both offer guides to quitting, too.
The key to quitting is to keep trying. Sponsors of Pennsylvania's new law
know that tenacity can bring results. Republican state Sen. Stewart
Greenleaf of Montgomery County introduced smoking bans for 15 years before
the act won passage in June.
And the effort is not over. The new law was a compromise that bans smoking
in most workplaces but allows it in private clubs, bars where food is not a
big part of the business and one-fourth of casino gambling floors. Two
Allegheny County Democrats -- Reps. Chelsa Wagner and Dan Frankel --
already are trying to win more restrictions. Mr. Frankel wants local
municipalities to have the ability to enact their own, tougher measures --
already the case in Philadelphia -- and Ms. Wagner wants to give Allegheny
County 90 days to enact its own stricter ban.
The Clean Indoor Air Act is a first step. Now it's time to clear out the
exceptions.
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Senator aims to toughen smoking ban
Associated Press
Erie Times-News
September 11. 2008
http://www.goerie.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2008809110424
HARRISBURG -- A state senator who helped win passage of a new state law
banning most indoor smoking in public places vowed Wednesday to fight to
plug the loopholes that remain.
Sen. Stewart Greenleaf said he plans to introduce a bill in January to
amend the law that takes effect Thursday and make the ban complete.
The law forbids lighting up in most workplaces and public spaces, including
restaurants, train stations, office buildings and sports arenas.
But it also authorizes the state to grant exemptions for certain
operations, including private clubs; casinos; nursing homes; bars where
food accounts for no more than 20 percent of annual sales; and as many as
25 percent of the rooms in hotels and motels.
Businesses that believe they qualify for an exemption must apply to the
state for approval. State Health Secretary Dr. Calvin Johnson said about
700 have applied so far.
Johnson said he hopes the law will eventually be transformed into a
complete ban, but said that it is "solid" in its current form.
Greenleaf, a Montgomery County Republican who has pushed for no-smoking
legislation for 15 years, estimated that the new law will apply to 95
percent of all businesses and establishments.
He said he expects his colleagues who resisted a stricter ban will get
pressure from constituents to expand the prohibition in the coming months..
"Now that we've got 95 percent, it'll be a lot easier to get the other 5
percent," he said after a Capitol news conference on the new law. "It's not
going to take 15 years to do it."
Businesses that believe they qualify for an exception must apply to the
state for approval. State Health Secretary Dr. Calvin Johnson said about
700 have applied, so far.
Johnson said he hopes the law will eventually be transformed into a
complete ban, but said that it is "solid" in its current form.
"Once you get a taste of sitting down at a restaurant or going to a bowling
alley ... and realize that the difference is tremendous ... we'll get 100
percent of Pennsylvanians indicating very clearly that Pennsylvania should
be smoke-free," Johnson said.
Businesses or people who break the state law would face fines of up to $250
for a first offense and up to $1,000 for repeat offenders.
The city of Philadelphia will be allowed to continue its own more
restrictive ban.
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Lawmakers want to let county have stricter smoking rules
By Sadie Gurman
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Tuesday, September 09, 2008
http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/08253/910534-46.stm
Robin Rombach/Post-GazetteJeffrey "Doc" Scott, of Brookline, lights up a
cigarette while having lunch at Amel's restaurant in Baldwin Township,
where lawmakers spoke yesterday.Two days before a statewide smoking ban is
set to kick in, two state lawmakers are already trying to change it.
State Reps. Chelsa Wagner, D-Beechview, and Dan Frankel, D-Squirrel Hill,
want to tighten the Clean Indoor Air Act so that Allegheny County can craft
its own stricter smoke-free laws, they said at a news conference yesterday.
Smoking will be banned in restaurants under the bill, but smaller bars and
taverns, where food sales aren't more than 20 percent of total revenue, can
ask for an exception. Ms. Wagner and Mr. Frankel said that caveat gives
some businesses an unfair advantage and doesn't offer equal protection to
employees and customers from the harms of second-hand smoke.
Ms. Wagner's bill would give Allegheny County 90 days to enact a smoking
ban stricter than the Clean Indoor Air Act; Mr. Frankel's bill also would
allow local governments to enforce stronger bans, except for Philadelphia,
which for two years has had its own clean air law that Gov. Ed Rendell
insisted not be overridden by the Legislature.
The lawmakers want Allegheny County to have the same authority that has
been extended to Philadelphia.
"We have to protect all people equally," Mr. Frankel said. "We have that
responsibility. If we're not going to do it on the state level, we have to
do it on local levels."
The lawmakers said they did not favor a "watered-down" Senate bill approved
last summer that had more exemptions than a bill the House passed. A
House-Senate conference committee worked for months to reach a compromise,
which is the plan that will take effect Thursday. They called it a step in
the right direction but not comprehensive enough.
The ban applies to 95 percent of Pennsylvania workplaces and public places,
including schools, colleges and government-owned buildings; public
transportation centers; stadiums and theaters; bowling alleys and
nightclubs; private homes used as day-care centers; and most health care
facilities.
The state Department of Health will field complaints from residents through
its Web site and toll-free number rather than sending inspectors around the
state. Penalties include a $250 fine for the first offense, a $500 fine for
a second offense and a $1,000 fine for subsequent violations.
Exceptions to the rule include private membership groups, such as veterans
and fraternal clubs; 25 percent of the rooms in a hotel; and 25 percent of
a casino floor, among others.
Such exceptions make the plan confusing, said Cindy Thomas, executive
director of Tobacco Free Allegheny, who joined the lawmakers at yesterday's
news conference. A law that bans smoking across the board would "treat
everyone fairly," she said, and would be easier to explain to those
expected to comply.
It's unknown when the measures could come up for a vote. If the bills are
not approved by December, they'll have to be introduced again at the start
of the next legislative session. The House has just nine more working days
before representatives adjourn to campaign for re-election.
"All we can do is just press for [the bills] to be taken up very early,"
Ms. Wagner said.
If either passes, county Councilman Chuck McCullough said he would work to
create a comprehensive smoking ban for the county. The county had its own
smoke-free law last year, but it was thrown out in court.
Ralph Reiland, part-owner of Amel's Restaurant in Baldwin Township, where
the lawmakers spoke yesterday, said he, too, favors a more comprehensive
smoking ban. He said the Clean Indoor Air Act jeopardizes the health of
workers and customers at restaurants that will still permit smoking.
The law bans smoking at Amel's, which creates "an uneven playing field" for
businesses, he said, that forces smokers who would rather dine at places
such as Amel's to travel to rival businesses that are exempt from the ban..
"They'd rather be here," he said, "but the government is moving them
elsewhere."
Sadie Gurman can be reached at sgurman@post-gazette.com or 412-263-1878.
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