L.A. Council Passes Ban on Smoking in Restaurants

The City Council on Wednesday approved snuffing out smoking in all of Los Angeles’ nearly 7,000 restaurants--from pricey celebrity hangouts to mom-and-pop greasy spoons--making it the largest city in the nation to pass such a ban.

Despite heavy lobbying by restaurateurs, smokers and the tobacco industry, the city’s indoor eateries would be required to post no-smoking signs if the ordinance takes effect. Owners who resist will face a misdemeanor charge, punishable by up to six months in jail or a $1,000 fine. Smokers who light up despite the warnings are subject to a $50 fine.

Exempt from the ban are outdoor eating areas, private clubs, bars and bar portions of restaurants. The vote marked the final council action on a smoking ban that won preliminary approval June 2. The ban will take effect in 30 days if it is signed into law by Mayor Tom Bradley, who has supported other smoking bans and is expected to consider this one today.

The debate over smoking will now move to Sacramento, where two bills that would preempt some local smoking ordinances are pending in the Legislature.

One, sponsored by Assemblyman Curtis Tucker Jr. (D-Inglewood) and supported by the tobacco industry, calls for weaker restrictions than Los Angeles’ ordinance, allowing owners to designate smoking sections in their restaurants. Another, proposed by Assemblyman Terry B. Friedman (D-Brentwood), would be just as tough as Los Angeles’ ban, imposing limits on all indoor workplaces, including restaurants.

Both measures are in legislative committee and are the subject of a fierce tug-of-war between smoking and nonsmoking forces.

Los Angeles council members, rejecting arguments that the ban would damage an already ailing restaurant industry and hurt tourism, voted 8 to 6 for the measure. The decision elicited both cheers and boos in the packed council chamber.

“This is a joyous day for all of Los Angeles, for all of the smokers and all of the nonsmokers,” said Councilman Marvin Braude, a former two-pack-a-day smoker who has become a fierce critic of smoking.

“It’s going to be easier for (smokers) to give up the habit. Most of them want to give up . . . but they can’t because they’re addicted.”

The law, which caps a 15-year campaign by Braude, is part of a trend to ban smoking in eating establishments. Citing the health effects of secondhand smoke, 56 cities and counties nationwide--49 of them in California--have banned smoking in restaurants.

The Los Angeles ban already has been the subject of numerous public debates, so the council did not allow public testimony Wednesday. After the vote, reaction spilled out into the hallways of City Hall, where more than 150 smokers and nonsmokers disagreed about the decision’s impact.

“Pity the city of Los Angeles,” said Otto Mix, 70, a North Hollywood resident who is a member of Californians for Smokers’ Rights. “Every time government infringes on our rights like this, we all lose a little liberty.”

Andrea Portenier, a member of L.A. Tobacco Control, had another view: “We’re not allowed to shoot bullets in the air. We shouldn’t be allowed to shoot smoke in the air either.”

Nearly two-thirds of city residents support the idea of a smoking ban in restaurants, according to a recent Times poll. Of those questioned, 64% generally were in favor of such a ban, and 33% opposed it. Fifty-three percent were strongly in favor.

Currently, restaurants with more than 50 seats must set aside at least 50% of their space for nonsmokers. Smaller restaurants are not required to separate smokers and nonsmokers.

No special enforcement of the new ban is planned, city officials said. Those who find restaurants without no-smoking signs can complain to the city attorney’s office, which will send warning letters. The options for dealing with people who light up despite the ban range from confronting them to reporting them to management to placing them under citizen’s arrest.

The council rejected a compromise that would have made the ban effective only after Beverly Hills, West Hollywood, Pasadena and other neighboring cities impose similar bans. Such a compromise, Councilman Hal Bernson argued, would ensure that smokers would not flee across city lines to eat. Fred Escobar, the owner of Casa Escobar in Eagle Rock, said some of his customers may walk half a block to Glendale, where there is no ban. A member of the 3,000-member California Restaurant Assn., which opposes the ban, Escobar said he and other members will regroup and attempt to get the ban revoked.

The City Council will have four new members on July 1, but it is unclear how much support opponents of the smoking ban will be able to muster. Mayor-elect Richard Riordan has said he would not veto a ban if it were passed by the council.

During the hourlong discussion Wednesday, Braude argued that Los Angeles should be a leader and encourage other jurisdictions to pass similar ordinances. “Let us show that this City Council cannot be intimidated by the tobacco industry,” he said.

Councilman Mike Hernandez, the only smoker on the 15-member council, supported the ban on a habit he says he cannot quit. An earlier ban on smoking in City Hall has forced him to smoke on the front steps, he said.

Braude and Hernandez were joined by Council members Ruth Galanter, Joy Picus, Mark Ridley-Thomas, Joel Wachs, Rita Walters and Zev Yaroslavsky.

Several of them gave Braude congratulatory handshakes and hugs after the narrow victory.

Opposing the measure were Ernani Bernardi, Hal Bernson, Joan Milke Flores, Michael Woo and John Ferraro. Councilman Richard Alatorre was absent for the vote.

* SMOKY SIDE OF TOWN: A restaurant fears its smokers will cross city borders. B1