Bill to combat sidewalk smoking moves forward

Publication Date: 2010-01-19

• Author:Ariel Feldman and Gabrielle Bluestone
• Publication:GW Hatchet (George Washington University)

The D.C. Council has given initial approval to a bill that would allow store owners to ban smoking up to 25 feet away from their business.

A D.C. Council bill that would allow D.C. business owners to ban smoking on the sidewalks outside their establishments moved forward with initial approval from the council earlier this month.

The smoking ban, introduced by D.C. Councilmember Phil Mendelson, D-At Large, would allow stores and businesses to post no smoking signs up to 25 feet away from their business.

The full council will most likely vote on the bill "sometime early [this] year," according to a Washington Post report.

University spokeswoman Michelle Sherrard said the University will respond to and comply with the bill