Smoking ban bill snuffed out

Publication Date: 2007-05-30

• Author:Yvonne Wenger
• Publication:The Post and Courier (Charleston, SC)

Sullivan's Island and a handful of other municipalities and counties can continue to restrict smoking in restaurants and bars, at least for now. However, local bans, including a prohibition planned for the city of Charleston in July, have been challenged by ongoing lawsuits.

Lawmakers left smoking laws in the hands of local governments Tuesday after a House committee failed to take action on a proposed statewide ban.

"It's a huge victory because these guys came in here today with the intent of passing a pre-emptive law that would have thrown out all the local laws," said Dan Carrigan, executive director of the Charleston-based Smoke Free Action Network. "The people in Charleston are going to get a taste of smoke-free air, and that is what the people in the tobacco industry desperately wanted to prevent."