Move to ban smoking in bars, restaurants

Publication Date: 2005-04-19

• Author:Judy Putnam
• Publication:Michigan Live

Smoking would be banned in all Michigan workplaces -- including restaurants and bars -- under bipartisan legislation to be unveiled today.

Health groups supporting the legislation want Michigan to follow 11 other states that have booted second-hand smoke from the workplace. Second-hand smoke has been linked to health problems, including lung cancer and heart disease.

A new statewide poll for the Campaign for Smokefree Air, a Michigan coalition of health groups against smoking, found that 80 percent of those surveyed said it's important to work in a smoke-free environment.