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Bills Target Sidewalk Space, Cheap Cigars
Jump to full article: The Washington Post, 2009-09-30
Author: Tim Craig Washington Post Staff Writer
Intro: Sidewalk smokers, beware: The D.C. Council might be coming after you.
And people who buy cheap cigars -- whether for legal or illegal purposes -- you, too, should be on guard.
Three years after the council approved a ban on smoking indoors at bars and restaurants, the council is now considering a proposal to give business owners the right to ban smoking within 25 feet of the front door of an establishment.
The legislation, which also makes it a crime for anyone younger than 18 to possess tobacco, represents another step in the District's efforts to curb smoking.
"I think it is reasonable to say to a proprietor you can put up no smoking signs if you've got a problem with people standing on the sidewalk in front of your establishment," said council member Phil Mendelson (D-At Large), a sponsor of the bill.
In addition to Mendelson's bill, council member Yvette D. Alexander (D-Ward 7) is proposing to ban the sale of single, cheap cigars, which she says are increasingly being used to roll marijuana. . . .
Several advocates for health organizations, including the American Lung Association, testified in support of Mendelson's bill. Altria, the parent company of Richmond-based Philip Morris, also announced its support for the legislation, even though it would be the city's first effort to allow restrictions on smoking in outdoor public spaces.
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