PA smoking ban to take effect
Posted by Noah Cohen on 31 Aug 2008 | in: The Drexel Beat
A law banning cigarette, cigar and pipe smoking in restaurants, office buildings, schools, sports arenas, theaters and bus and train stations will take effect in less than two weeks, according to an AP report.
There are exceptions to the rule including lounges and special parts of casinos. “It’s a very complex law,” Judy Ochs, director of the PA Health Department’s Division of Tobacco Prevention and Control told the AP.
Health officials and business owners have said the law is confusing because of the exceptions.
Officials at Harrisburg Airport said they will continue to allow smoking in special lounges however Ochs said the airport is a public place and not covered by the exceptions, according to an AP report.
The smoking ban starts Sept 11 2008 according to a Philadelphia Inquirer editorial.
The state smoking ban will likely have little impact on Philadelphia because a similar anti-smoking law has been in place for over a year.
The Inquirer editorial said the state ban will “put Pennsylvania in the mainstream on safeguarding public health,”
Rep. Jeff Pyle called the smoking ban “intrusive” in June 2008
