Take a deep breath: A ban on smoking in bars?

Publication Date: 2005-01-22

• Author:Thomas Burr
• Publication:Salt Lake Tribune

SB77: A Senate committee endorses, by a 4-1 vote, legislation that would ban lighting up in taverns and private clubs by next June

During the lunch hour on Wednesday, a smoker has a cigarette in Salt Lake City's Port O' Call, a private club which is one of the targets of legislation that would ban smoking in such establishments, as well as taverns. (Ryan Galbraith/The Salt Lake Tribune ) Lawmakers are one step closer to barring smoking in bars.

A Senate committee endorsed legislation on Friday that would ban lighting up in private clubs and taverns as soon as June. Attempts to amend Senate Bill 77 to apply the ban only to fine-dining clubs failed. So did a proposal to bar smoking in all buildings, including those at Salt Lake City International Airport.