El Paso Passes Ban on Public Area Smoking
From Times Wire Reports
El Paso became the first big city in Texas to ban smoking in all enclosed public places, including restaurants and bars, with a vote by the City Council.
The law takes effect Jan. 2.
“This is terrific. I’m very pleased,” said Kathrin Berg of the El Paso chapter of the American Cancer Society.
But Fred Jackson, president of the El Paso Restaurant Assn., said the law would hurt his members because smokers would take their money elsewhere, mainly across the Rio Grande to Mexico.
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