[C-U Smokefree] From Bloomington, MN

[Theotskl at aol.com]

FYI

Dr. Tsoukalas

Bloomington (MN) Votes 6-1 for Smokefree Workplace Law
 
Parts excerpted from the Associated Press and Star-Tribune, 7/20/04
BLOOMINGTON, Minn. - On Tuesday, the Bloomington City Council approved the 
Twin Cities area's first citywide smokefree workplace law, a move that will lead 
the way for other local ordinances.  The council's 6-1 vote came after hours 
of testimony.
The ordinance will take effect Sept. 1 in public places and offices.  The 
portion of the law pertaining to restaurants, bars, and gambling venues will take 
effect March 31, 2005.  Smoking would also be prohibited within 25 feet of 
entrances, exits, open windows and ventilation intakes.  
The law includes the Mall of America.
Council Member Amy Grady said, "The bottom line for me is the health issue."
A standing-room-only crowd of more than 100 people packed the council 
chambers. About 60 more people listened to the meeting from an auditorium across the 
hall, and another dozen remained in the lobby. Seventy-five people were 
scheduled to speak.
Pat Reichert, a former smoker who was found in 1997 to have lung disease and 
carried a portable oxygen tank, came to speak in favor of the ordinance.  "I 
needed to show people what happens to people who smoke," she said. "I'm a 
walking example. 
"This will be the accessory of the 2000s," she said as she tapped her oxygen 
tank. "It's one thing that I have one. I smoked. But how about the people who 
don't smoke and have gotten sick?"
In the wake of the hearing, the American Cancer Society released a poll of 
400 Bloomington residents that showed 68 percent of Bloomington voters supported 
a citywide smokefree law in public buildings and workplaces.
The vote in Bloomington, the metro area's largest suburb, comes as a flurry 
of smokefree workplace proposals are being considered by other suburbs, 
Minneapolis, St. Paul and Hennepin County.
The Minneapolis City Council is expected to vote favorably on its proposal 
Friday. 

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