Jump to full article: Burlington (VT) Free Press, 2009-04-24
Author: Terri Hallenbeck Free Press Staff Writer
Intro: At Champlain Cable Corp., the employee smoking room was closed down last fall, sending smokers outside. Employees were offered help to quit smoking.
What the Colchester cable manufacturer did voluntarily could soon be required throughout Vermont at the dwindling number of companies with indoor smoking areas. Legislation that would ban indoor smoking lounges -- shutting down smokers' last refuge in the workplace -- is likely headed for law.
Today, the House passed a bill that cleared the Senate earlier this year. Gov. Jim Douglas said of the bill, "I guess I'm amenable to that."
"There is no safe level of exposure to secondhand smoke," said Rep. Patsy French, D-Randolph, told fellow House members. "Passing smoke-free workplace legislation saves lives and prevents serious illness while saving Vermont money."
Many employers locked the door on smoking lounges years ago.
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