Pennsylvania smoking ban starts Thursday
by TedHARRISBURG — It wasn’t an easy decision, but The Saloon, a tavern/eatery in Mt. Lebanon, is going non-smoking.
The change will happen Thursday, when Pennsylvania’s new smoke-free workplace law goes into effect.
“It was a tough choice, but we’re happy we’re going to be non-smoking,” said manager Keith Sheppard. “I’ve gotten a lot of positive responses from our customers to the new policy. Some people have said ‘I’d come there to eat, but there is too much smoke.’ ”
Under the new Clean Indoor Air Act, which was 15 years in the making, restaurants will be required to prohibit smoking. But smaller bars and taverns, where on-premises food sales don’t exceed 20 percent of total revenue, can ask the state Health Department for an exception to the smoking ban.
The new law is intended to protect non-smoking customers and workers in public places, schools and offices, as well as restaurants, recreational facilities, sports arenas, larger bars and taverns, on 75 percent of a casino floor and in at least 75 percent of hotel/motel rooms.
The legislation was signed by Gov. Ed Rendell in June but didn’t take effect for 90 days, to give businesses a chance to adapt to it. The full text of the lengthy legislation is available at www.legis.state.pa.us
“[Thursday] will be a great day for Pennsylvania,” Mr. Greenleaf said. “Second-hand smoke is dangerous. Even a brief exposure can cause health problems and higher costs for health care.”
“A smoke-free environment is the only effective measure to protect the public, including people at work, from exposure to secondhand tobacco smoke,” said Dr. Calvin Johnson, state health secretary.
The state Health Department was given the major responsibility for implementing the smoke-free law.
“It’s a complex law and we encourage people to go to our Web site for information,” said department spokeswoman Holli Senior. It’s www.health.state.pa.us. On the home page, click on CleanIndoorAir , and then on the second screen, click on Guidance (at the top).
For persons without Web access, there is a toll-free number, 1-877-835-9535, which operates around the clock, she said.
Enforcement of the new law will be “complaint-based,” Ms. Senior said, meaning the department will field complaints from citizens rather than sending inspectors around the state. Anyone who thinks a business is illegally continuing to permit smoking can go to the department’s Web site to file a complaint or can call the toll-free number.
Penalties include a $250 fine for the first offense, a $500 fine for a second offense and a $1,000 fine for subsequent offenses.
The law prohibits towns, cities or counties — except for Philadelphia — from passing their own, stricter smoking bans. Philadelphia is a separate case because for the past two years, it’s had its own smoke-free law and Mr. Rendell insisted that Philadelphia’s law not be overridden by the Legislature.
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