City to vote on smoking ban
The Boston Public Health Commission is scheduled to vote soon on expanded smoking restrictions that would be among the toughest in the US.
The proposal would ban cigar bars and hookah bars, which currently enjoy exemptions from Boston's four-year-old workplace smoking ban. It would also eliminate sales of tobacco in pharmacies and on college campuses.
The commission gave preliminary approval to the rules in September, and is scheduled for a final vote Thursday.
Boston would be the largest US city, by far, to outlaw smoking bars.
Roger Swartz, director of the community initiatives bureau at the Boston Public Health Commission, said the dangers of tobacco are so great, significant steps are needed to protect public health.
"Regulations based on data are not done just to kind of hassle people," he said. "For a product like tobacco ... even if someone was doing it voluntarily, there is no safe exposure level."
Right now, there are no state bans on smoking bars; 52 communities nationwide have bans that include private clubs and cigar bars, according to Americans for Nonsmokers Rights.
Fort Wayne, Indiana, is among the largest communities with such a ban, and smaller cities in Massachusetts also have it.
