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Smoke-Free: Shift in smoking policy was once unimaginable
AP Photo
Gov. Bev Perdue, seated between Rep. Hugh Holliman (left) and Sen. Bill Purcell, hands out pens after signing the smoking bill into law at the Capitol in Raleigh.
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Published: May 20, 2009
RALEIGH
Yesterday was a historic day for North Carolina, the nation's largest tobacco-producing state, Gov. Bev Perdue said as she signed into law a statewide ban on smoking in bars and restaurants.
Smokers and business owners have some time to prepare -- the ban doesn't take effect until Jan. 2, 2010.
With a celebratory ceremony and a few strokes of her pen, Perdue made official a policy shift that was once inconceivable.
"It's been a long road, but major changes in public policy can take a while to get there," said state Rep. Hugh Holliman, D-Davidson, who has spent five years pushing for major restrictions on public smoking. "I think this bill is a huge step forward for public health in North Carolina."
It may not be the last step.
The bill that Perdue signed does not go as far as Holliman and other anti-smoking advocates wanted. They would like to ban indoor smoking in virtually all businesses, because they say all workers should be protected from the dangers of secondhand smoke.
Yesterday, Holliman left open the possibility that he would try in the future to broaden the new smoking ban in order to cover businesses beyond restaurants and bars.
"I think we'll always keep working on public health," he said.
Perdue, a Democrat, said that the smoking ban is a signal that North Carolina is serious about improving people's health. She cited a study this year that showed that exposure to secondhand smoke costs state residents $289 million a year. The study was conducted by the N.C. Department of Health and Human Services and Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina.
"I believe we'll see a reduction in health-care costs, and families in this state will understand and be grateful of this signal it sends," Perdue said.
She was joined at a bill-signing ceremony at the Capitol by a large group of state legislators, public-health officials and other supporters of the ban.
Under the ban, bars and restaurants can continue to allow smoking in outdoor areas. Cigar bars and country clubs are exempt from the ban.
North Carolina becomes the second tobacco-producing state to enact major restrictions on smoking, after Virginia, which passed a similar law earlier this year. North Carolina's law is more restrictive than Virginia's, because Virginia's law allows smoking in separately ventilated rooms of bars and restaurants.
■ James Romoser can be reached at 919-210-6794 or at jromoser@wsjournal.com.
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