HUNTINGTON BEACH : City Passes Ban on Restaurant Smoking

The City Council early Tuesday approved an ordinance that will outlaw smoking in all restaurants in the city by Jan. 1, 1995.

Until the ban takes effect, the ordinance will require restaurant owners to set aside 75% of their space for nonsmokers.

The ordinance takes effect Sept. 1.

Under the ordinance, smoking will be prohibited in restaurants serving 24 or fewer diners because of the difficulty in setting aside smoke-free areas in small establishments, city officials said.

The city currently requires restaurants to set aside only 25% of their space for nonsmokers.

The new ordinance also bans tobacco vending machines throughout the city. Councilwoman Linda Moulton-Patterson, a leading advocate of tougher anti-smoking laws, said in a City Council report that she believes vending machines make tobacco products available to children.

The City Council approved the new ordinance, 6-1, after councilmen David Sullivan and Jim Silva reversed their votes of two weeks ago when the ordinance was introduced.

Sullivan initially opposed the smoking ban, claiming it would have a harmful effect on the city’s tourist business, particularly among foreign visitors.

But he said Tuesday that his first vote had been a mistake and that he hadn’t considered the effects of secondary smoke on restaurant employees.

Silva did not give reasons why he changed his vote.

Councilman Earle Robitaille cast the only ‘no’ vote. Earlier, he said that while he believes smoking may be harmful, he didn’t think the city should try to regulate it.