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Action on Smoking and Health
A National Legal-Action Antismoking Organization Entirely Supported by Tax-Deductible Contributions
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Federal Judge Tosses Challenge to NY's Smoking Bans [04/09-2]
Excerpts from: Rejecting Constitutional Claims, Judge Upholds Smoking Bans
In a widely expected decision released yesterday, Judge Victor Marrero of the United States Court for the Southern District of New York ruled that the bans do not unduly burden smokers' rights to freedom of speech, association, travel or any other protected privileges.
But the court did not agree with the group's move to discredit scientific evidence about the harmful effects of secondhand smoke, or any of its other points.
The group also held that the city's Smoke Free Air Act and provisions of the state's Clean Indoor Air Act are variously vague and overly restrictive, violating the First and 14th Amendments.
Judge Marrero held that the group's First Amendment arguments had a "critical flaw" - "the premise that association, speech, and general social interaction cannot occur or cannot be experienced to the fullest without smoking."
But the judge wrote that he doubted the bans would play any material role in smokers' travel decisions. "Smokers remain free to travel as they please, to no less degree than nonsmokers, and may still smoke while they drive their automobiles or walk in the streets," he said.
The city's chief lawyer on the case, Ave Maria Brennan, an assistant corporation counsel, said in a statement that she felt the court "reached the correct decision."
Thomas R. Frieden, the city's commissioner of health, said in a statement: "The Smoke Free Air Act was enacted to protect workers from the adverse health impact of secondhand smoke, and we are pleased with the Federal District Court's decision upholding its constitutionality."
Click Here to View the Entire Decision
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