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[11/06/02] Landslide Victory for Smokefree Restaurants in Florida For 20 years, smokefree advocates tried to get Florida's legislature to pass smokefree restaurant legislation. Despite surveys showing overwhelming public support, the legislature refused. Tobacco cartel influence on legislators was just too great. Frustrated by legislative inactivity, smokefree advocates led by Martin Larsen (whose mother died of cancer) collected 650,000 signatures and placed a smokefree restaurant initiative on the Florida ballot. Due to Florida law, the initiative had to be in the dramatic form of a constitutional amendment. Many people, including many newspapers, supported the idea of smokefree restaurants, but opposed the initiative claiming that it was inappropriate to change the constitution of Florida. Instead, they argued that the legislature should take action. Yesterday, Florida voters, tired of 20 years of legislative inactivity, passed the smokefree restaurant initiative (Amendment 6) by a landslide margin. The initiative also requires office workplaces to be smokefree. Stand-alone bars were not part of the initiative. "I started this a long time ago in my mom's memory," said Martin Larsen, choking back tears. "And the battle's not won yet. I'll celebrate when there's no more cancer." "In hindsight, ALL workplaces (including stand-alone bars), should have been included," explained Joe Cherner, president of SmokeFree Educational Services, Inc., the nation's largest smokefree advocacy group. "But concerns for the controversy involved in changing Florida's constitution and fears of massive opposition funding by the tobacco cartel, led to a modified smokefree workplace initiative. Hopefully, legislators will get the message and protect the health of ALL workers. No one should have to breathe tobacco smoke to have a job." Even smokers voiced their support for the initiative. "I've smoked cigarettes my entire adult life but people who don't smoke deserve protection from secondhand smoke," said George Green, 61, after voting for Amendment 6 in Volusia County. "It's an idea whose time has come."