DC City Council debates budget
(June 30, 2011)—
The District’s fiscal 2012 budget has been finalized and included is a measure that will weaken the highly successful smokefree law. The measure gives certain hotels an exemption allowing cigar smoking at special events once a year. The American Lung Association and other public health advocates called upon members of the City Council to reject the language inserted into the Budget Support Act as it creates a loophole in the current strong smokefree law. The exemption will put at risk the health of those who attend these special events, in addition to hospitality workers who are staffing them. There is no safe level of secondhand smoke and the American public has shown strong support for comprehensive smokefree laws and has even come to expect them. The American Lung Association is committed to continue to engage and educate DC Council Members and the community alike on the dangers of cigar smoke and the possible implications of this new exemption.
