State smoking ban will likely pass

Publication Date: 2007-02-08

• Author:Sara Pratt
• Publication:The Cabinet (NH)

With a newly elected Democratic majority, the Legislature will again take up debate this month on the statewide smoking ban in public bars and restaurants that was narrowly defeated by Senate Republicans last year.

With growing public support, the ban is likely to pass both the House and Senate, says state Sen. David Gottesman (D-Nashua), who, along with a bipartisan group of nine other senators and four state representatives, sponsored the bill.

“It’s something the constituents are asking for,” said Gottesman, who represents District 12, which includes Brookline and Hollis. “They were very disappointed when it failed to pass last year by just one vote in the Senate and they let me know it.”

According to a 2006 University of New Hampshire Survey Center poll, more than 79 percent of state residents now support smoke-free workplaces, including bars and restaurants.