Restaurant Owners Oppose Proposed Smoking Ban

Restaurant owners united Wednesday to fight a proposal banning cigarette smoking in their businesses.

About 100 members of the Spokane Restaurant and Hospitality Association voted unanimously to oppose the ban sought by the county health district.

They vowed to collect money for a possible lawsuit and pelt the health board with anti-ban petitions.

“They were pulling out money and saying, ‘How much do you want? How much do you need?”’ said association president Geneva Ward.

“They’re taking away our rights when we own a business and pay taxes on it,” said Betty McElroy, who owns the Pear Tree Inn in south Spokane.

“We all want to stick together on this. It’s our constitutional right.”

The health board recently asked health officer John Beare to draft an ordinance prohibiting smoking in all Spokane County restaurants.

It would be the strictest non-smoking law in the state. Only bars inside restaurants are included.

More than 60 percent of Spokane County restaurants already prohibit smoking.

Beare said Monday he’s not sure he can legitimately declare a medical emergency, required by law in order to enact such a ban.

The medical emergency status is usually reserved for epidemics such as scarlet fever and tuberculosis.

Beare is expected to announce his decision at a Dec. 21 health board meeting. Restaurant owners plan to be there to object.

If the ordinance is approved, the restaurant association will hire an attorney immediately to file a lawsuit, Ward said.

, DataTimes