Maui to ban restaurant smoking
By Timothy Hurley
Advertiser Maui County Bureau
WAILUKU, Maui — Maui is set to become the second county in Hawai'i to ban smoking at restaurants.
Advertiser library photo
County Council members, following the lead of their Honolulu counterparts, gave second-reading approval unanimously yesterday to an amendment to include eating establishments in its ordinance on smoke-free public places beginning Jan. 1.
Maui Mayor James "Kimo" Apana will hold a signing ceremony Friday.
Mayor James "Kimo" Apana said he will hold a signing ceremony for the ordinance at 10 a.m. Friday and invite youngsters from Hana and Moloka'i who testified for it.
Public health advocates praised the council's action, describing it as a bold step on behalf of the health and welfare of Maui County.
"The council really listened to the restaurateurs and the public," said Sandra McGuinness, advocacy coordinator for the Maui Tobacco Free Partnership. "They heard our needs for smoke-free places. We look forward to celebrating the new year in a new way — dining out smoke-free."
Under the ordinance, smoking will be prohibited in restaurants, bar areas within restaurants, and indoor and outdoor seating areas.
Smoking would not be banned at stand-alone bars where food is served "incidentally" — meaning that it represents no more than one-third of gross sales.
The bill is stronger than the ordinance approved by the Honolulu City Council in February. That law, which went into effect in July, allows smoking at bar areas within restaurants until July 2003.
Councilman Dain Kane, who proposed the Maui legislation, said a survey of restaurants in the county indicated that a smoking ban had the support of nearly 70 percent of the establishments.
"I feel it is the next logical step for Maui," Kane said.
Clifford Chang, director of the Coalition for Tobacco Free Hawai'i, said he hopes the new law will lead to additional smoke-free laws protecting workers, including a workplace bill and a bill that includes bars.
An amendment by council member Jo Anne Johnson to require all bars to go smoke-free was referred yesterday to the council's Human Services and Economic Development Committee.
Advocates who testified for the bill yesterday ranged from the Department of Health to the American Cancer Society to the American Heart Association.
"This ordinance is a huge step in creating a public norm that is clear and enforceable," said Julian Lipsher, public health educator for the state Department of Health.
Also testifying were youngsters from teen tobacco prevention programs in Hana and Moloka'i. They said they're not even old enough to buy cigarettes, yet they are forced to breathe secondhand smoke when they go out to eat.
