PA Governor calls for total smoking ban

By TOM KANE

HARRISBURG, PA — Will Pennsylvania remain the “Ashtray of the Northeast?”

Not if Governor Ed Rendell has anything to say about it.

Rendell doesn’t want the state to own the sobriquet any longer. He is calling for the legislature to pass a ban on smoking in the workplace, including bars and restaurants.

The ashtray accusation was recently laid on the state since most of the surrounding states have enacted such a ban. Those states that already prohibit smoking in all private workplaces, including restaurants and bars, include Delaware, New Jersey, Ohio and New York.

Similar bans have been enacted in Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Hawaii, Washington, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Maine and Vermont.

Two others — Arizona and Nevada — passed similar bans in the November elections, although Nevada exempts casino gaming floors. It’s ban has been challenged in the courts.

Pennsylvania tavern owners are likely to oppose the ban. However, the Pennsylvania Restaurant Association’s board of directors voted to support a comprehensive statewide smoking ban, citing concerns about the effect of secondhand smoke on employees. “By doing this, we hope to be part of the solution,” said the association’s executive director Patrick Conway. “A state-wide solution means you don’t have a patchwork of different regulations that are unfair and confusing to workers and businesses.”

Amy Christie, executive director of the Pennsylvania Tavern Association, said the group has not had an opportunity to discuss Rendell’s proposal. She said the state’s 1988 Clean Air Act, which requires designated nonsmoking areas in certain establishments, goes far enough.

“We are opposed to a smoking ban that is completely restrictive on bars and restaurants,” Christie said.

In a recent article in this paper, House majority leader Sam Smith, a Republican from Jefferson County, said he was opposed to the banning bill, stating that it is another intrusion of the state into business.

Last session, Senate Bill 602 and House Bill 1489, which would clear cigarette smoking out of the workplace and public spaces including bars, restaurants, arenas and bingo halls, was languishing in committee.

It is not clear where William DeWeese, the new Democratic majority leader in the House, will come down on this issue, his staff said.