Group wants statewide smoking ban

SEATTLE – Outside the busy downtown shopping center where she works, Kristin Skubinna briskly exhaled her critique of a proposed ban on smoking in public places.

“It’s ridiculous,” Skubinna said, cigarette in one hand and coffee in the other. “I don’t use any other drugs, I don’t drink alcohol. This is my vice.”

A coalition of Washington health organizations wants the state Legislature to ban smoking in all public, indoor places such as restaurants, bowling alleys, bars and nightclubs.

A similar California-style ban fizzled in the Legislature earlier this year without even getting a vote in the House or Senate. Supporters of the ban are firing up their lobbying campaign early for next year’s session, hoping that public anti-smoking sentiment will help spark some legislative action this time.

“People believe they have the right to breathe clean, smoke-free air just like they would expect clean water or clean plates at a restaurant,” said Marina Cofer-Wildsmith, CEO of the American Lung Association of Washington.

Only about 20 percent of Washington adults smoke. A recent American Lung Association poll of 400 people showed that more than two-thirds support a ban on smoking in all public places.

Smoking ban advocates argue that waitresses and bartenders deserve the same protection from second-hand smoke that office and retail workers already get, echoing a theme heard during the successful effort to ban indoor smoking in New York City.

Sen. Rosemary McAuliffe, D-Seattle, said her daughter had to quit her job as a bartender in Mount Baker after developing a hacking, persistent cough she attributed to all the smoke in her workplace.

“She said to me, ‘They’re killing us out there, Mom,” said McAuliffe, who is sponsoring the smoking ban bill in the state Senate.

“Waitresses are three times more likely to die of lung cancer than women in other professions,” said Rep. Joe McDermott, D-Seattle, who is sponsoring the same legislation in the House.

Private clubs and tribal properties would not be covered by the statewide ban. If the Legislature doesn’t pass a smoking ban next year, the topic would be a natural for a ballot initiative to the people. But supporters of the ban steered away from questions about initiatives – which generally require a costly campaign – saying this issue should be the Legislature’s responsibility.

Earlier this month, the Tacoma-Pierce County Board of Health approved a ban on public, indoor smoking in that county. Barring a possible court challenge from the State Restaurant Association, the ban would start next month.

Nick Federici, a lobbyist for the American Lung Association of Washington, said the Pierce County ban has helped generate more interest in a statewide ban.

“It is a no-brainer,” Federici said. “If you ban smoking in all indoor public places, there’s no concern about a competitive advantage or disadvantage for anyone.”

Smokers such as Skubinna say they’ll be disadvantaged. Now in her 30s, Skubinna has smoked since she was a teen and wishes she never started. She’s hooked now, though, and said she needs to have a few places where she can smoke in peace.

“I visited California, and I wasn’t pleased about all the smokers being crammed in an outdoor patio at all the clubs,” she said, shivering in her sweater as she finished her smoke break. “Here we’d be freezing our butts off!”