House rejects smoking ban

Publication Date: 2007-05-03

• Author:Dan Kane
• Publication:Raleigh (NC) News & Observer

Opponents say legislation intrudes on state's business owners; supporters cite second-hand smoke's risks

Tobacco may be on the wane in North Carolina, but apparently not enough to allow for a statewide ban on smoking in restaurants and hotels.

State House members on Wednesday rejected legislation that would do just that, and give local governments the option to adopt smoking bans in workplaces. The measure failed 55-61.

The unusual defeat on the floor of a measure pushed by a House leader divided lawmakers as much by the level of tobacco's economic impact in their districts as whether they were Republicans or Democrats. For two hours, lawmakers debated the health impact of second-hand smoke versus the private-property rights of business owners.

Supporters argued that the legislation would save lives and cut into an estimated $143 million in direct health care costs in North Carolina caused by second-hand smoke. Rep. Jeff Barnhart, a Concord Republican, spoke of the personal cost; his father-in-law, a nonsmoker, died of lung cancer after being exposed to smoking in the workplace.