Law would snuff outdoor smoking.
Joe Camel may be banned from outdoor bars and restaurants, if a Portland lawmaker has her way.
Rep. Joan Cohen, a first-term Democrat, wants smoking prohibited from decks and patios at dining and drinking establishments in Maine. The proposed state law is modeled after a similar measure adopted in 2008 by the city of Portland.
“We can visit any bar or restaurant in Maine and be assured that we will not have to contend with smoke,” said Cohen, speaking before the Health and Human Services Committee last week.
“But on beautiful summer days, we have to make an unfortunate choice: dine outdoors and inhale smoke, or eat inside.”
Cohen’s district covers all of Portland and parts of Falmouth, a suburb just north of Portland.
Her bill won an endorsement from the Health and Human Services Committee. Cohen's proposal originally prohibited smoking outdoors at restaurants until 10 p.m., but was amended in committee to ban it altogether. Anti-smoking groups argued for a complete ban.
If the law passes, bars and restaurants that fail to comply would face fines of up to $1,500.
Maine law already bans smoking indoors at public dining establishments.
The next stop for the bill is a vote before the Maine House and then the bill is up for a vote in the Senate.
Maine has been a national leader in tobacco restrictions. In 1999, Maine was the fifth state to ban smoking in restaurants.
Former Gov. Angus S. King Jr. signed legislation that made smoking illegal in all restaurants and most bars, despite opposition from many restaurant owners.
Since then, many states have followed Maine’s lead in banning indoor smoking at drinking and dining establishments.
Across the U.S., smoking bans are decided at a state and local level. Congress has not tried to pass national laws against smoking. California, Colorado, Hawaii and Arizona are among more than a dozen states with smoking bans in restaurants and bars.
Others states, including Alabama and Alaska, have some municipalities that prohibit smoking in bars and restaurants but not a statewide ban.
For more info: State-by-state list of smoking bans
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Comments
Good. Maine's economy must be solid since it can now limit its tourist dollars to non-smokers. Any smoker with a brain will avoid Maine and any other place that goes to this extent to ban smokers from their state. Hawaii's tourist industry is in a slump since their smoking ban. Maine will follow that slump. I have spent my tourist dollars in Maine for years. I officially stop doing that right now with the passage of this bill. I am one of many of the 25% of possible smokers/vacationers. I can go to the Carolinas and enjoy the beach, smoking INSIDE bars, and relaxing outside as I spend my money.
This is merely another politician trying to make a name for themselves by going after an easy kill. But why stop there?
Perhaps Rep Cohen can then go after the cars that are still polluting the air, because that's unhealthy. Then, she can go after the incessant chatter that's prevalent in restaurants, because noise pollution is not only detrimental, but someone may overhear a conversation that offends them. Finally, she can spend years going after the restaurant menus themselves since it's completely full of unhealthy options. To me, each one is as asinine as the last, but somewhere out there are people ready to get behind those ideas.
I have no doubt that Rep. Cohen is a well-meaning individual, but this has got to stop. People complain about not being able to eat outside because of a concentration of smokers, but it is those same people complaining today that forced this situation in the first place. This is not Miami. We have a limited number of outdoor venues and because of recent restrictions, smokers flock to them because that's their only remaining outlet.
Don't like 30 smokers at an outside venue? Amend the law to allow a limited percentage of bars and restaurants to allow indoor smoking and relieve the tension.
For the record, I don't smoke cigarettes, but I refuse to begrudge anyone who does.
Why would any smokers even want to travel to Maine anyway? That state has been a joke for many years when it comes to smoking issues, and has long been one of the most smoker-unfriendly states in the entire country.
Especially since I remember reading Maine started to advertise their state as being '100% non-smoking' on all welcome signs along state borders. That's absolutely unnecessary for any state with a smoking ban to have, but I'm sure it delights those who hold the fantasy that smoking bans automatically increase sales for any type of business, when the truth is that bans do not always help businesses that chose to be smoker-friendly. Maybe someday, anti-smokers will get over their arrogant attitudes about smoking, and realize the truth that smoking bans need to be written in a way that fairly allows adult businesses the flexibility of determining their own smoking policy, while keeping places like government buildings, and businesses open to those under 18 smoke-free.
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