Oppose the NC Smoking Ban
Information
Category:
Common Interest - Politics
Description:
There is currently legislation moving through the House and Senate of North Carolina to ban smoking in all public places. This would include all restaurants and bars, arenas, theatres, pavillions etc. This is a violation of a personal freedom and especially atrocious in the tobacco rich state of North Carolina.

All you have to do to let your local Representative know that you oppose the ban is...

Call the Tobacco Action Hotline at 1-877-978-9996, wait a minute and a representative will ask... (read more)
Privacy Type:
Open: All content is public.

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Oppose the NC Smoking Ban

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Basic Info
 

Name:
Oppose the NC Smoking Ban
Category:
Common Interest - Politics
Description:
There is currently legislation moving through the House and Senate of North Carolina to ban smoking in all public places. This would include all restaurants and bars, arenas, theatres, pavillions etc. This is a violation of a personal freedom and especially atrocious in the tobacco rich state of North Carolina.

All you have to do to let your local Representative know that you oppose the ban is...

Call the Tobacco Action Hotline at 1-877-978-9996, wait a minute and a representative will ask... (read more)
Privacy Type:
Open: All content is public.

Recent News
 

News:
3/27/07
R.J. Reynolds, the nation's second largest tobacco producer, managed to get a rewrite in the proposed bill. The bill now exempts tobacco shops, warehouses and manufacturing facilities. R.J. Reynolds again pushed for adult-only bar exemption, but the debate goes on...let your representative know what you think.

3/28/07

Good news, the newest edition of the House Bill 259 "Smoke-free Indoor Air" includes a clause that exempts "age-restricted" alcohol serving places that make less than 20% of their revenue off of food...in other words...bars.


You can view the most current proposal of the Bill at...http://www.ncleg.net/Sessions/2007/Bills/House/HTML/H259v2.html

4/6/07

Recent reports say the bill has lost momentum as it moves through the North Carolina legislative body. State Senator Hugh Holliman (D-Davidson), who authored the bill, admitted that adding the "bar exemption" clause was a compromise to help the bill get signed quicker. Fortunately for us, tobacco lobbyists continue to slow the bill's progress and lawmakers as well as the public continue to lose interest.

4/19/07

Due to the growing lack of interest, House Bill 259 "Smoke Free Indoor Air" was rewritten a third time. The third edition outlaws smoking in all food and lodging establishments and state government buildings. There is an exemption for reserved smoking rooms in hotels and motels. This was the official compromise made by representative Hugh Holliman, the bill's author and strongest supporter. The bill is no doubt a fair compromise, however it presents yet another problem for restaurant and bar owners. Many feel that it gives unfair competitive advantage to bars and restaurants that are in a smoking county adjacent to a non-smoking county. This is a valid point especially for bar owners because everyone knows that when people drink, many of them want to smoke (Even "non-smokers")...smokers would be willing to drive a few extra miles to be able to smoke while they spend time at the bar. The third edition passed with a very close vote in the House, but it is still unlikely that loserthe bill will make it through the rest of the legislative process without further modification. What is your opinion on the new edition of the bill??


5/2/07


SUCCESS

The bill failed for now, there will no doubt be efforts in the future.