Senators say support has grown for restaurant smoking ban.

Publication Date: 2007-01-09

• Author:AP
• Publication:Boston Globe

Two state senators say support has grown for a plan to ban smoking in New Hampshire restaurants and bars.

Democrat David Gottesman of Nashua and Lempster Republican Bob Odell are sponsoring a bill that is identical to one that failed by a few votes in the Senate last year.
At a news conference Tuesday organized by the American Lung Association and the American Cancer Society, they said support has grown for the ban since last year among restaurant owners, workers and newly-elected lawmakers.

Gottesman said a ban will protect workers and employers from higher medical costs.

The Cancer Society says food service workers have a 50 percent greater risk of dying from lung cancer than the general public, in part because of their exposure to second-hand smoke.