Senate votes to ban public smoking
The state senate voted decisively to ban smoking in Michigan restaurants, bars and workplaces on Thursday in a surprising vote that appears headed for quick passage in the house chamber and could be signed by the governor as early as this week.
The senate voted in support of the ban 25-12, drawing support from both Democrats and Republicans, many of whom viewed the measure more favorably after learning more of the risks of secondhand smoke.
According to the Associated Press, in 2006 the U.S. surgeon general “reported that breathing any amount of secondhand smoke harms nonsmokers and called for making buildings and public places completely smoke free.”
Although the bill looks almost certain to pass, not everyone is thrilled.
Senate Majority Leader Mike Bishop (R-Rochester) calls the smoking ban a “blatant overreach.”
“When will it stop?” he asked. “How much control do you want? And when will people have to stop thinking for themselves entirely?”
Bishop was joined by the Michigan Licensed Beverage Association and the Michigan Restaurant Association, who argue that the measure could have a negative economic impact on bars and restaurants – especially those that don’t serve food.
According to the AP, however, recent studies of smoking bans’ economic impact in other states have not supported that argument, and “more than 5,000 of the roughly 16,000 bars and restaurants in Michigan already ban smoking, up from around 2,200 in 1998.”
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