Bill goes up in smoke

Smoke-Free Workplaces, H-6053 and S-0567, was a reincarnation of a bill that has come before lawmakers numerous times in recent years, and it came closer to becoming law than it ever has in the past. The Senate passed the measure by a 25-to-7 vote after the House Labor Committee voted down the measure, 7 to 5, in April.

As in the past, the bill’s demise was attributed to twin concerns, one high-minded, the other practical: First, that banning smoking in public places would violate people’s civil liberties; second, that outlawing smoking in restaurants and bars would devastate the state’s hospitality and tourism industries.

Rhode Island is surrounded by states that have enacted smoke-free workplace legislation. Recently, the Massachusetts Senate approved a statewide smoking ban and Connecticut passed a similar bill. California, New York, Delaware, Florida and Oklahoma also banned public smoking.

“I think that this is definitely the wave of the future. Throughout all of
New England the workplaces are going in that direction. This is something that’s
definitely going to be coming up again,” said Alison Buckser, a spokeswoman
for Campaign For A Healthy Rhode Island, a coalition of organizations that backed
the legislation.