BOSTON (AP) - Boston officials approved some of the toughest anti-tobacco
rules in the nation Thursday, extinguishing cigar bars and hookah bars and
ending the sales of tobacco in pharmacies and on college campuses.
The Boston Public Health Commission, however, decided to give the bars 10
years before they would have to close, doubling the original proposed grace
period for the establishments. Even then, the bars could seek an extension for
another 10 years.
Boston is the largest city, by far, to move to outlaw smoking bars, which
have been exempt from the city's four-year-old workplace smoking ban.
"As we all know, smoking is the number one cause of preventable cancer
deaths in the U.S.," said Dr. Paula Johnson, chairwoman of the commission.
"It's very important that we really think about what are the steps we can
take to make our city as healthy as it can possibly be," she said.
The commission gave preliminary approval in September to the rules, which
will take effect on campuses and pharmacies in 60 days.
The panel also voted to expand the workplace smoking restrictions to include
and hotels, inns and bed and breakfasts, as well as areas such as loading docks.
Under the new regulations, operators of a smoking bar whose permit is
current or whose application was pending before the commission by Nov. 1 will be
able to operate for a period of not more than 10 years. After 10 years, they can
petition for one 10-year extension.
Roger Swartz, who heads the commission's community initiatives bureau, said
the panel lengthened the grace period for the bars because of hard economic
times.
"We wanted to give them a bit more time to get used to the idea that they'll
have to close," Swartz said.
The meeting was attended by a handful of cigar bar patrons, including
Stephen Helfer, 61, Cambridge, who held a sign urging the panel not to close the
bars.
"This is just an incremental step toward total prohibition," he said.
Right now, there are no state bans on smoking bars; 52 communities
nationwide have bans that include private clubs and cigar bars, according to
Americans for Nonsmokers Rights. Fort Wayne, Ind., is among the largest
communities with such bans, and smaller cities in Massachusetts also have them.
The ban on tobacco sales in pharmacies is not as unique in big cities; a
similar ban went into effect in San Francisco in October, despite a pending
court challenge.
"It's very inconsistent with their mission," said Swartz of the pharmacies
selling smoking materials. "In fact, you could say it's a conflict of interest."
The fines for violating the new regulations would range from $200 to $1,000,
the commission said.
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