A National Legal-Action Antismoking Organization
Entirely Supported by Tax-Deductible Contributions
| Home | Search | About ASH | Why Join | Comment | Email page |
|
Action on Smoking and Health
A National Legal-Action Antismoking Organization Entirely Supported by Tax-Deductible Contributions
|
San Antonio Approves Indoor Smoke Ban [08/11-1]
Excerpts from: San Antonio snuffs out indoor smoking
By JOHN W. GONZALEZ Houston
Chronicle [08/11/03]
Outdoor diners on the River Walk still can smoke under a revised city ordinance
approved last week.
But starting in 2004, once they step inside a San Antonio restaurant or bar, patrons will face a slew of new smoking controls that were criticized as too onerous by business owners and too weak by health advocates.
The City Council overwhelmingly approved a package of city code revisions that clarify an existing ban on smoking in enclosed public places, including office buildings and other workplaces. However, a key definition was accidently omitted from the ordinance, forcing the council to schedule another vote for Thursday.
During months of negotiations, the new rules evolved from a proposed ban on all smoking in eateries to a watered-down compromise allowing enclosed smoking sections in restaurants. Disappointed anti-smoking forces likened the new rules to creating urination sections in swimming pools.
Smoking also will be permitted in San Antonio's bingo and billiards halls, retail tobacco stores, manufacturing facilities, and comedy clubs. Efforts to exclude children under 18 from those sites were turned back when a last-minute change authorized parents to take their kids into enclosed smoking areas.
Businesses will be required to post signs that more clearly state where smoking is and isn't allowed, and the signs are supposed to include a hard-fought health warning about second-hand smoke, one of few if not the first in Texas.
Groups including the American Cancer Society, American Lung Association, American Heart Association and Trust for a Smoke-Free Texas opposed the ordinance revisions as far too weak, advocating instead a total ban on smoking in public places. While most public places will remain subject to the ban, the fight was largely over exceptions, especially restaurants and bars.
| Home Web Page | Search This Site | Learn About ASH | Why Join ASH | Comment on This | Email This Page |