A second amendment to the smoking ban passed, 70-46.
The proposed smoking ban now includes exceptions for restaurants with separate ventilation systems and those that are not open to minors.
The amendment was proposed by Rep. Nelson Cole, a Rockingham County Democrat.
Some supporters of the bill had argued that it was a "catfish amendment" designed to sound appealing while actually gutting the bill.
Cole refuted that charge, saying that the bill was designed to keep the ban from being too sweeping and allow common-sense exceptions.
A third amendment from Rep. Paul Stam to address some single-person businesses then passed 113-3.
Blog RSS feed
Re: Cole amendment passes
I understand why Rep. Cole felt his amendment represented a reasonable compromise, but it should be noted that there has not been a single study to this date that shows any real harm to non-infant normal children from the sort of "exposure" they'd get to secondary smoke from an occasional trip to a restaurant... particularly given that there are enough non-smoking restaurants by choice that most children in such situations are probably brought there by smoking parents who'd otherwise be smoking around them in the far less ventilated conditions of home.
Infants brought into a smoking environment MIGHT be argued to be at risk of SIDS, but despite all the money poured into studying SIDS and smoke exposure I do not believe that there has ever been a study showing that occasional exposures to low levels of smoke in decently ventilated environments has any effect at all on SIDS.
As for older children, the only risk that has been strongly related to occasional exposures to secondary smoke would be the risk of an asthma episode among those who suffer from asthma. Parents with asthmatic children who are sensitive to smoke should clearly not bring them into a smoke-filled bar or restaurant, but should there be a law about this?
Michael J. McFadden
Author of "Dissecting Antismokers' Brains"