Free Republic

If you're steamed up about Mayor Bloomberg's smoking ban in bars and restaurants, mayoral hopeful Anthony Weiner wants you to light up with him at the voting booth. "The smoking ban was insensitive to the needs of small outer-borough pubs, like the ones in my district for whom accommodating smokers is part of the rationale for their business," said Rep. Weiner (D-Brooklyn, Queens). Weiner, who doesn't smoke, said family-owned bars and small establishments "should have the right to have smoking" - a surprising move for a Democrat to take in the primary. If elected, Weiner said, he would advocate changes...

Smoking Ban Alerts  The following states have strong bills that include 100% smokefree workplaces and/or restaurants and/or bars; OR repeals preemption: Alabama: SB413 (restaurants and bars)—Favorable 2nd reading in committee Colorado: SB207 (restaurants and bars)—Amended and passed House Committee Connecticut: HB5067 (bingo) District of Columbia: B16-0187 (workplaces, restaurants, and bars), B16-0193 (workplaces, restaurants, and bars) Georgia: HB426 (workplaces, restaurants, and bars)—Died Illinois: HB672 (repeals preemption)—Passed Senate Health Committee; SB254 (repeals preemption)—Passed House Local Government Committee Maine: LD886 (workplaces) Minnesota: SF404 (workplaces, restaurants, and bars;  HF412 (workplaces, restaurants, and bars) Michigan: SB394/HB4624 (restaurants), SB395/HB4625 (workplaces) New York: S4375 (casinos) North Carolina:...

Firing Smokers - Reading Beyond the Headlines Trend: You smoke? You're fired!May 11, 2005 By Stephanie Armour More companies are taking action against employees who smoke off-duty, and, in an extreme trend that some call troubling, some are now firing or banning the hiring of workers who light up even on their own time.The outright bans raise new questions about how far companies can go in regulating workers' behavior when they are off the clock. The crackdown is coming in part as a way to curb soaring health care costs, but critics say companies are violating workers' privacy rights....