Jump to full article: Port Huron (MI) Times Herald, 2008-08-13
Intro: There is little point in crunching the numbers of St. Clair County restaurants that are smoke-free today. Those that banned smoking did so voluntarily. A year-old county ordinance against smoking in workplaces exempts bars and restaurants.
The county's limited law really is an indictment of Lansing. Only the state Legislature can ban smoking at bars and restaurants. So far, Michigan's lawmakers cannot summon the courage to adopt such a statute. . . .
Most of the county's bars and a significant number of its restaurant haven't embraced the smoking ban -- and they aren't likely to do so unless state lawmakers take the lead.
Secondhand smoke takes the lives of tens of thousands of nonsmokers each year, according to U.S. Surgeon General Richard Carmona. St. Clair County has done its best to win nonsmokers some relief. Now it's up to Lansing.
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