House would limit smoking

Publication Date: 2007-03-08

• Author:Rob Christensen
• Publication:The News & Observer

In another sign that North Carolina is no longer Tobacco Road, the state House voted Wednesday to ban smoking from state government buildings.

The House, by a 107-4 margin, voted to send cigarette smokers outside to take a puff in an effort to protect their fellow state workers from the risks of secondhand smoke.

In previous years, the legislature had banned smoking from the Legislative Building and offices, and in prisons. And the lawmakers are probably not finished.

Possibly next week, there is likely to be a push in the House to forbid smoking in most public places, including restaurants and places of employment.