2009-05-20 North Carolina Approves Ban on Smoking

2009-05-20 Robbie Brown New York Times \smoking\US/NC\Bev Perdue http://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/20/us/20tobacco.html North Carolina Approves Ban on Smoking North Carolina Approves Ban on Smoking  North Carolina, the nation’s largest grower of tobacco, will soon prohibit smoking in restaurants and bars. The ban, signed into law on 2009-05-12 by Gov. Bev Perdue, is another defeat for the ailing tobacco industry on home turf in the South.

Starting in January, North Carolina will impose a fine of up to $50 for smoking in bars or restaurants and $200 for owners who repeatedly allow it. The state joins 28 others with similar bans, but it was a landmark victory in a state where tobacco and politics are historically linked and where the likes of R. J. Reynolds and James B. Duke became titans.

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The ban passed the General Assembly last week by a narrow margin. The final version is a compromise for opponents of smoking who originally hoped for a ban in all public places but conceded on exemptions for cigar bars and private clubs.

Opponents of the bill generally framed their arguments in terms of protecting owners of restaurants and bars, not propping up the tobacco industry. But Representative L. Hugh Holliman, a former pipe smoker and a lung cancer survivor who co-sponsored the bill, called it a "huge turning point." Comments:
 * This seems odd to me. Who are all these "opponents of smoking" who managed to campaign so successfully for this? None of the liberal organizations I receive updates from mentioned a word about it. Also, why wasn't the opposition able to raise better arguments? Is this a set-up to frame liberals as oppressors? -

&ldquo;North Carolina, the nation’s largest grower of tobacco, will soon prohibit smoking in restaurants and bars. The ban, signed into law on 2009-05-12 by Gov. Bev Perdue, is another defeat for the ailing tobacco industry on home turf in the South.&rdquo;   