DANA POINT : City Council Amends Anti-Smoking Law

Smokers won a minor victory this week when the City Council agreed to allow smoking throughout restaurant bars and lounges and on at least half of outdoor restaurant patios.

The council voted 3 to 1 to amend the city’s stringent no-smoking ordinance for public places that was to go into effect July 1. Under that law, 75% of all restaurant areas would have been off limits to smoking, with a total ban on restaurant smoking due to take effect July 1, 1994.

Under the new law, however, smokers will be free to smoke in restaurants’ bar and lounge areas and in at least half of the patio areas. The council also agreed to delay the outright ban on smoking in all restaurant areas until July 1, 1995.

Councilman Mike Eggers, who smokes, supported the changes but ultimately voted against the law, calling it an intrusion by government on the rights of smokers and restaurant owners.

“Sometimes less government is better government,” Eggers said. “I think it would be better if this kind of thing was market driven. The restaurant owners should decide based on the demands of their customers.”

Councilman William L. Ossenmacher disagreed, stating that it was more important to protect the nonsmokers.

“Reports have come out now showing that secondhand smoke is a Class A carcinogen,” Ossenmacher said. “The overriding concern is protecting the rights of people to be in a smoke-free environment.”

Councilwoman Eileen Krause abstained because she owns a company that sells tobacco-smoke air cleaners.

Under city law, smoking is also banned in all public elevators, public meeting places, libraries and theaters.