Statewide workplace smoking ban likely to pass in Tennessee

[Doondoo]

House Speaker Jimmy Naifeh said Thursday that he won't stand in the way of proposals for a statewide workplace smoking ban - as long as there are certain exceptions.

Naifeh, D-Covington, as recently as last month said he thought a "pro-business attitude" in the Legislature would prevent an expansive smoking ban from becoming law. But Gov. Phil Bredesen last week announced his support for banning most indoor smoking in the state, and Republican Senate Speaker Ron Ramsey has agreed that some form of smoking ban is likely to pass this year.

"I am open to it with some exemptions," Naifeh said Thursday. "I will not be trying to block it."

The exceptions would include bars and nightclubs that only admit adults, airport smoking lounges with separate ventilation systems and outdoor workplaces, Naifeh said.


http://www.knoxnews.com/kns/state/article/0,1406,KNS_348_5354980,00.html

[kestrel91316]

1. Oh, happy day! A big win for the workers of TN!!!!

[Warpy]

2. There's one in the works here in NM

where a couple of cities have indoor smoking bans already. It would not only ban indoor smoking, but ban smoking in outdoor seating at bars and restaurants. Sorry, but that's a little much.

I'm horribly allergic to cig smoke, but I can tolerate it in outdoor seating areas if I don't have to tolerate it for long, and if I can tolerate it outdoors, anybody can.

Jeez, it's a legal addiction and they have to go somewhere. It is not at all injurious to me if that "somewhere" is outdoor seating at a local restaurant.

I hope the lege reconsiders that provision. An indoor smoking ban is a great thing. An outdoor smoking ban is ridiculous.

[LeftishBrit]

6. You make a lot of sense!

I also don't smoke and feel ill if someone smokes right in my face; but it's a genuine addiction and a particularly hard one to beat, and I think an outdoor ban is totally over the top.

[Hell Hath No Fury]

3. When I first heard this...

I was shocked there was a state that still allowed it! Here in SF, our workplace smoking ban was initiated around 20 years ago, back in the early 80s -- I can't imagine why TN held out on something so obviously better for its citizens this long.

[dkofos]

4. Could it be that they are a top tobacco producing state??

[Hell Hath No Fury]

5. Forgot about that...

duh!

Still, TN needs to evolve a bit -- dump the tobacco crap. One more reason I strongly support hemp farming -- it could allow a move from crops like tobacco.

[SharonAnn]

7. We need to evolve more than "a bit". Trust me on this.