Tobacco Documents Online

~ WISCONSIN ~ Newspaper Association 702 Midvale Blvd. Madisonl Wis. 53705 Clipping ~ur~'~ .Oi~'ts.#~ Fitchburg Star SEP ~ ? 1990 "mok• .... i ............ ng,,.. areas.-now mandate.d by Tom .Pfankuch W~uld you prefer smoking or , non;smoking? • It s a question yoti're likely to hear. more often i£ you dine in Fitchburg. " " That's because the Fitchburg City Council adopted an .ordinance Tuesday night that m.anaates no-smoking areas in restaurants and other .similar establishments. "It's a commendable ordinance 7ihat should have been passed long ago," Aid. Les Nelson said. The ordinance mandates no- smoking areas in restaurants, laundromats, beauty salons and • certain retail areas. The law also mandates the use ".of signs that designate where smoking is not allowed. A pair of residents showed up at the meeting, but their views . contrasted like night and day. . Carol Thompson, of the .Smokers' Rights Action Group, read a long speech condemning the efforts to limit smoking. "The rank and file anti-smokers have consistently displayed a b'got s approach to knowleage, , she read aloud, • • • hey grasp eagerly at anything that reinforces their prejudices, to wield like a club against their victims," • ' , • T..hompm.n's speech brought smues ana at times laughter to ~so, me council members, including tv~ayor Tom Capp. nti-smokers are the garbage that educated people are supposed tb recogniz~ and resist," Thompson said. • Another resident, Doug A/t, argued that the ordinance wasn't tough enough on smokers. "The intent is to protect the public, but I feel like I'm not .being protected," he said. Continued on back page Smoke (Continued from Page 1) Air asked the cofinb.il to re.cognizo that employees arc part of the public. He argued that the.. ordinance allowed smokers at his work place to smoke near him. Aft said he worked at an auto parts store, and that the shop in " back of the store was not covered by the rules. , "I hope you can more clearly " define a retail area," he said. Aid. AI Colvin, who proposed the ordinanch, ..said the health dangers of second-hand smoke .j prompted him to .writ~ the. ordinance. • • But Air said it wasn't health reasons that he wanted to limit smoking in his work place. "It's just plain annoying," he' said.. "It bothers my contacts."' • Aid. Nelson agreed with Air and expressed his desire to limit smokin.g by workers. "An employee is affected by smoking for a much longer period than someone in a restaurant," he said. But a~ter discussion and rulings. by attorney Jean Setterhoim, the. board decided not to stretch the rules to private workplaces. ,"I'm not sure what the impact would be on centracts between employees and management on which we had no input," Aid. Denise Solie said. Setterholm agreed that for now,. it would be overstepping legal bounds for the city to attempt to control employee smoking. • Limits on smoking were added • to beauty salons and barber shop.s. which • weren't included m Colvin's original proposal. TI23051440