DANVERS (AP) — Smokers pushed outside by a 2004 statewide ban on indoor smoking may have to walk even farther away if one lawmaker has his way.
Rep. Ted Speliotis, D-Danvers, testified yesterday in favor of a bill he filed to ban smoking within 25 feet of the entrances and windows for public buildings.
Current law only goes as far as banning smoking inside the buildings. Speliotis told a Statehouse hearing that his legislation would better protect the public from secondhand smoke.
He cited the example of a cigar shop and Italian restaurant in his own downtown that constantly feud about whether outdoor smokers drive away potential dining patrons.
"They can walk a little way from the door, and they won't have problems," Speliotis said of the smokers.
While prospects for the bill are unclear, a Cambridge library assistant testified approving it would have unintended consequences — including making the only legal smoking zone in the middle of some streets.
Stephen Helfer, a 61-year-old smoker, also warned that it would further marginalize lower-income smokers.
"I think education is the way to go," Helfer said. He urged his fellow smokers to be more respectful of people entering or leaving nonsmoking establishments.
Tobacconists and some restaurant and bar owners have warned enacting the proposal would stifle business already hurt by the recession.
Massachusetts instituted a ban on smoking in workplaces, including bars and restaurants, in July 2004. It replaced a patchwork of bans that had cropped up since Brookline first limited public smoking in 1993.
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