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Adam Ford
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http://blog.mlive.com/annarbornews/2008/05/michigan_senate_oks_ban_on_smo.html
Michigan Senate OKs ban on smoking in bars, restaurants
Posted by David Eggert | The Associated Press May 08, 2008 14:39PM
The Michigan Senate on Thursday voted to prohibit smoking in all bars, restaurants and workplaces.
The 25-12 vote, a major development in efforts to enact a smoking ban in the state, came after a Democratic senator asked to discharge legislation from a committee where bills traditionally have gone to die.
Republicans who control the chamber allowed the request.
The bill passed the Democratic-led House in December. But it had been opposed by Senate leaders, who said it would put unnecessary government restrictions on private establishments.
Health groups say secondhand smoke is harmful to workers and patrons in bars and restaurants.
Unlike the House version, the Senate version makes no special exceptions for casinos, bingo halls and other buildings.
The ball is back in the House's court, which will decide whether to accept a full ban or try to carve out exemptions. Democratic Gov. Jennifer Granholm has said she will sign a smoking ban.
Sixteen Democrats and nine Republicans voted for the bill. Eleven Republicans and one Democrat voted against it.
Republicans control the Senate 21-17. One Republican was absent and didn't vote.
More than 30 states ban smoking in public or workplaces, according to supporters. Some bans don't apply to restaurants and bars, though, or they make exceptions in casinos and other buildings.
The Michigan Restaurant Association and Michigan Licensed Beverage Association opposed the legislation, arguing that going smoke-free should be a market-driven business choice by individual bars and restaurants. But the American Cancer Society and other health groups cited a U.S. surgeon general report that breathing any amount of secondhand smoke harms nonsmokers.
"It's not about the public's choices. It's about protecting the public's health," said Sen. Raymond Basham, a Taylor Democrat and a longtime proponent of the smoking ban. He said bartenders, waitresses and other workers need protections against smoke.
Some Republicans who voted for the legislation said their positions evolved as they saw more evidence from the surgeon general and others related to hazards of secondhand smoke.
But Senate Majority Leader Mike Bishop, R-Rochester, who allowed a vote despite personally opposing the bill, called it a "blatant overreach" of government into private affairs.
"When will it stop? How much control do you want?" he said. "And when will people have to stop thinking for themselves entirely?" |
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Fri May 09, 2008 8:24 am |
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Dave Starr
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| Guess they'll have to raise the cigarette tax to make up for lost revenue. |
_________________
I used to care, but I take a pill for that now.
Pushing buttons sure can be fun.
When a lion wants to go somewhere, he doesn’t worry about how many hyenas are in the way.
Paddle faster, I hear banjos. |
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Fri May 09, 2008 11:57 am |
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Demeralda
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| LOL Dave, that was my exact FIRST THOUGHT. How stupid can they be? |
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Fri May 09, 2008 3:50 pm |
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twotap
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Hey if you aint smokin you aint doing your part.  |
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Fri May 09, 2008 3:52 pm |
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Dave Starr
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quote:
Demeralda schreef:
LOL Dave, that was my exact FIRST THOUGHT. How stupid can they be?
Some cities in the South begged people to conserve water. They conserved so much that revenues dropped, and water rates were raised. |
_________________
I used to care, but I take a pill for that now.
Pushing buttons sure can be fun.
When a lion wants to go somewhere, he doesn’t worry about how many hyenas are in the way.
Paddle faster, I hear banjos. |
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Sat May 10, 2008 7:35 am |
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Ted Jankowski
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What happened to personal choice? Pauls Coney Island on Center rd went smokeless. People go there that want to eat in a resturant that doesn't allow smoking. Hmmm, Why do we need government to tell we have to?
INSURANCE!?!
WHy do we have to were Seat Belts??
INSURANCE!?!
Who is running our government?
INSURANCE LOBBIEST!?!
Just a thought. |
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Sat May 10, 2008 8:16 am |
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FlintConservative
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quote:
Ted Jankowski schreef:
What happened to personal choice?
I agree completely. Personal choice AND personal responsibility.
quote:
Why do we need government to tell we have to?
INSURANCE!?!
WHy do we have to were Seat Belts??
Insurance? Or Democrats? Or both?
Initial seat belt law passed in 1985...signed by Governor Blanchard (D).
County workplace smoking ban approved by County Board of Commissioners (8 Democrats, 1 Republican)
Motorcycle helmet requirement repeal...vetoed by Governor Granholm (D).
Ban on trans fats in Michigan restaurants...legislation introduced by Lee Gonzales (D). |
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Sat May 10, 2008 3:15 pm |
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Deena
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It's not Dems. It's pandering to political correctness. Either party would have done it.
I miss Statesmen. Remember those REAL American leaders who believed that the rights of the minority were as great as that of the majority? |
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Sat May 10, 2008 4:42 pm |
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Dave Starr
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| Who will be next, after they're done with smokers? |
_________________
I used to care, but I take a pill for that now.
Pushing buttons sure can be fun.
When a lion wants to go somewhere, he doesn’t worry about how many hyenas are in the way.
Paddle faster, I hear banjos. |
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Sat May 10, 2008 5:00 pm |
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Adam
F L I N T O I D
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http://www.mlive.com/flintjournal/index.ssf/2008/05/brenda_clacks_longshot_antismo.html
Brenda ClackFLINT, Michigan -- Whether he was at home, in the car or at work, state Rep. Brenda Clack's father was rarely without a Camel cigarette.
And she says her family suffered health consequences long after he died of lung cancer at age 68.
Clack, D-Flint, may not have gotten her father to quit but she's fought hard to make Michigan restaurants and bars kick the smoking habit -- and she's finally getting close to winning a battle that once seemed impossible in Lansing.
Her impassioned two-year fight could finally be over when a Senate-approved bill Clack sponsored to ban smoking in workplaces reaches a state House vote Tuesday.
"It didn't move for 10 years. That's a long time to be on that battlefield," Clack said of the effort that started several years before she took it on.
"I always had faith it was going to happen and I had hoped. The fight is still not over but I certainly hope it will be this week."
Jack Minore
If the House passes the bill it would simply need Gov. jennifer Granholm's signature to become law. It's a day some legislators didn't think would ever come after a road loaded with opposition from the powerful restaurant lobby and other interests.
"Rep. Clack has been a tremendous support to our campaign," said Judy Stewart, director of state government relations for the East Lansing-based American Cancer Society.
"She's really done a great job of educating not only her caucus but she's also reached across the aisle and brought along some friends there and helped to educate those lawmakers (who now) support our issue.
"We couldn't be any happier."
The anti-workplace smoking measure has been a perennial loser in the Legislature, introduced annually and trumpteted by its passionate supporters, only to languish and die in committees.
Jack D. Minore has seen it first-hand.
Minore, the former state legislator and Flint city councilman, tried to pass an indoor smoking ban in 2003 that never even saw the House floor.
He took on the controversial initiative introduced nearly a decade ago by Sen. Ray Basham, D-Taylor.
"It is a lightning rod kind of issue. Seven years or eight years ago lawmakers probably thought that it wouldn't ever happen," said Minore, now legislative director for the AFL-CIO in Lansing.
"I would say that each year, as there was new information about secondhand smoke and more states and cities adopted bans, most people came around to the idea that we'll get it one of these days."
Clack said it was her own family history and education about health care issues and costs that inspired her to take on the initiative.
She and six siblings grew up in a two-bedroom house in Memphis, Tenn., often breathing in cigarette smoke.
Back then, she said, there wasn't as much information about all of the health threats.
Clack's brother died at age 53 in 2003 from an asthma-induced heart attack, another sister suffered respiratory problems and Clack herself still has painful bouts of acute bronchitis.
"It's a fight I feel very strongly about. I knew it would be controversial," she said. "I was so elated, I just screamed when we got the news it had passed in the Senate.
"I hope to make a difference in the health of Michiganians."
The bill stalled in January after Senate Majority leader Mike Bishop, R-Rochester argued it would hurt business at bars and restaurants and impose unnecessary government restrictions.
Clack attributed much of the turnaround since then to studies showing a majority of patrons wanted smoke-free establishments and showing the ban wouldn't harm businesses.
"It's a new day. I knew we had the ammunition to disprove it would hurt us economically," she said.
"It was a dead letter issue, but the people began to clamor all over the state," she added. "I'm excited to look at the (health and health care cost) statistics a few years from now if that bill passes. I think it's going to be major."
Anti-smoking update:
• House Bill 4163, sponsored by state Rep. Brenda Clack, D-Flint, comes back for a state House vote today (May 13) after passing in the Senate last week.
• If approved, the bill would go to the desk of Gov. Jennifer Granholm, who has indicated she would sign it into law. It would take effect 14 days after she signs. |
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Tue May 13, 2008 11:19 am |
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Demeralda
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| I love it. "Studies". Oh, well, there were STUDIES done, so it must be true!! |
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Wed May 14, 2008 1:53 pm |
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Shawn Chittle
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Ted is onto something. Because the more people that get cancer from workplace conditions, the higher the health care costs. Second hand smoke causes cancer. period. insurance companies know this.
however, the bans have not been lobbied by insurance companies, but, according to the TV show "Off The Record" by Republicans who vacation in FL which is smoke free, then come back to MI and are bothered by it. it's like tasting fresh, clean water for a few weeks then having to go back to the brown stuff that comes through the pipes. you miss that clean feeling.
also, the smoking ban is just nice... it's nice to not inflict your habits on other people. this is not about choice, its about a lack of it. people who work in bars should have the same workplace conditions as those who work in offices. offices are smoke free. so are airplanes, malls, etc. so why are bartenders and wait staff made to suffer? smoke outside, you have the choice to do so in an open area, or in the privacy of your own home.
whether this bill passes now or later, it will pass. it's just a matter of time until MI and the whole country goes smoke free, so get over it and move on to something more worthy of debate.
the poster who made fun of "studies" reminded me of the Simpsons episode when Homer says "Facts are meaningless. You could use facts to prove anything that's even remotely true!"
I got a big laugh out of that post. I hope it was a joke. that would make me feel better. |
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Wed May 14, 2008 4:11 pm |
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twotap
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quote:
the poster who made fun of "studies" reminded me of the Simpsons episode when Homer says "Facts are meaningless. You could use facts to prove anything that's even remotely true!"
UH OH. 
 |
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Wed May 14, 2008 5:10 pm |
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Shawn Chittle
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| Private Pyle, get off my obstacle! |
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Wed May 14, 2008 5:52 pm |
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twotap
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Maybe Madonnas ex will show up in MI.
Sean Penn leads Cannes revolt against French smoking ban
May 14 04:00 PM US/Eastern
36 Comments
US actor and director Sean Penn lit up and led a minor revolt at the Cannes film festival against France's draconian new anti-smoking laws.
Penn, the head of the jury that will pick the best films, pulled out a cigarette and puffed on it at a press conference with fellow jury members, in defiance of laws in place since January that ban smoking in public enclosed spaces.
He only took a couple of drags before putting it aside and getting back to answering reporters' questions.
But jury member Marjane Satrapi, an Iranian director clearly inspired by her colleague's defiance, then asked to much laughter if anyone minded if she smoked "for medical reasons."
She then lit a cigarette, with Penn and French actress Jeanne Balibar quickly following suit. |
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Wed May 14, 2008 8:24 pm |
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