Smoke-free activists prod Trenton

Publication Date: 2005-03-01

• Author:SUSAN K. LIVIO
• Publication:(Newark, NJ) Star-Ledger

Rally pushes measure for ban on lighting up in taverns and restaurants

Calling New Jersey the "ashtray of the Northeast," anti-smoking activists yesterday pressed acting Gov. Richard Codey and lawmakers to enact a ban on smoking inside bars and restaurants.

More than two dozen physicians, religious leaders and representatives from anti-tobacco groups rallied on the Statehouse steps in Trenton to call for action on the "New Jersey Smoke-Free Air Act," a bill that has stalled for more than 18 months. Indoor smoking bans have been enacted in California, Connecticut, Delaware, New York, Maine, Massachusetts and Rhode Island.