Jump to full article: Pittsburgh (PA) Tribune-Review, 2009-09-13
Author: Tom Yerace
Intro: Singer, the manager of Grille 31 in Mt. Pleasant, said the smoking ban has not exacted a toll on business there.
"We still have smokers who still come in here and we have an outside patio now and they go outside and smoke. Our business hasn't changed at all. I was shocked," Singer said.
And patrons are breathing easier since the Pennsylvania Clean Indoor Air Act took effect on Sept. 11, 2008.
"The Clean Indoor Air Act is clearly an improvement because it is saving lives and saving money in Pennsylvania," said Joy Blankley-Meyer, executive director of the Pennsylvania Alliance to Control Tobacco.
But anti-smoking groups are not completely satisfied because people can still smoke in some public places.
"The other way to look at it is that there are several exceptions in this law and that causes some workers in the hospitality industry not to be protected and we want everyone to be protected," said Blankley-Meyer.
State Sen. Stewart Greenleaf, a Montgomery County Republican who advocated for the law, has introduced a bill to close the remaining "loopholes" allowing smoking indoors, she said.
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