NEWPORT BEACH : Tougher Curbs on Smoking Rejected

The City Council this week denied a proposal to enact a tougher anti-smoking ordinance for restaurants and workplaces, deciding instead to keep current rules intact.

The council debated the issue during a study session and eventually agreed to reject the proposal, which was endorsed by some residents and health care agencies. Opponents had argued that tougher regulations and enforcement would have been difficult and expensive to implement and would have imposed a hardship on the city’s restaurants.

Proponents of new regulations, who were backed by the local branch of the American Heart Assn., the Cancer Society and the county’s Tobacco Use Prevention Program, wanted to beef up requirements for no-smoking areas in restaurants. The city’s ordinance requires restaurants with more than 50 tables to set aside 25% of them for nonsmokers.

Citing studies showing that less than 20% of Orange County residents smoke, proponents of stricter regulations floated proposals that called for 50% to 80% of seating areas in restaurants to be reserved for nonsmokers.

They also called for stricter workplace requirements prohibiting smoking in common work areas, such as lounges, hallways and lunchrooms. Under the current ordinance, employers must provide “reasonable and feasible” accommodations for nonsmoking workers.

Further, the proponents hoped to make all health-care facilities smoke-free. Existing regulations restrict smoking to a few designated areas.