MMDad
Lem Putt
JPC, how would you vote?
Bill To Ban Smoking In Bars, Restaurants To Be Introduced Thursday
POSTED: 6:17 pm EST January 25, 2006
UPDATED: 6:37 pm EST January 25, 2006
ANNAPOLIS, Md. -- A bill to ban smoking in bars and restaurants will be considered in the Maryland legislature again this year.
Smoking opponents announced that bills in the House and Senate would be introduced Thursday in an attempt to make Maryland the 11th state to ban smoking in all bars and restaurants.
"We have to keep Maryland from being the ashtray of New England and the Mid-Atlantic," said Michaeline Fedder, president of Smoke-Free Maryland.
Democratic Sen. Ida Ruben of Montgomery County, who will sponsor the Senate bill, said it's not fair that waiters and bartenders don't have the same workplace protections from second-hand smoke as other workers.
"Right now they're forced to choose between a job they want and their health," Ruben said.
Already one-third of Marylanders live in counties or cities that ban smoking in bars and restaurants. A statewide ban has been considered, but hasn't passed, in the last three sessions.
www.nbc4.com
Bill To Ban Smoking In Bars, Restaurants To Be Introduced Thursday
POSTED: 6:17 pm EST January 25, 2006
UPDATED: 6:37 pm EST January 25, 2006
ANNAPOLIS, Md. -- A bill to ban smoking in bars and restaurants will be considered in the Maryland legislature again this year.
Smoking opponents announced that bills in the House and Senate would be introduced Thursday in an attempt to make Maryland the 11th state to ban smoking in all bars and restaurants.
"We have to keep Maryland from being the ashtray of New England and the Mid-Atlantic," said Michaeline Fedder, president of Smoke-Free Maryland.
Democratic Sen. Ida Ruben of Montgomery County, who will sponsor the Senate bill, said it's not fair that waiters and bartenders don't have the same workplace protections from second-hand smoke as other workers.
"Right now they're forced to choose between a job they want and their health," Ruben said.
Already one-third of Marylanders live in counties or cities that ban smoking in bars and restaurants. A statewide ban has been considered, but hasn't passed, in the last three sessions.
www.nbc4.com