Pelosi stamps out smoking in Speaker’s Lobby at Capitol

WASHINGTON – Smokers may be one minority in Congress with even fewer rights than newly demoted Republicans. Now they are losing one of their last, cherished prerogatives – a smoke break in the ornate Speaker’s Lobby just off the House floor.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., announced a ban Wednesday, effective immediately.

“The days of smoke-filled rooms in the United States Capitol are over,” Pelosi said. “Medical science has unquestionably established the dangerous effects of secondhand smoke, including an increased risk of cancer and respiratory diseases. I am a firm believer that Congress should lead by example.”

Lawmakers will be free to light up in their own offices. But no longer can they mingle in the Speaker’s Lobby in a haze of cigarette smoke during House votes, as they did just Tuesday night while passing anti-terrorism legislation.

House Minority Leader John Boehner, R-Ohio, is a heavy smoker, often found at the center of a group puffing away in a corner of the lobby. He had little to say Wednesday about Pelosi’s move. Questioned at a news conference, Boehner described it as “fine.” He did not elaborate.

Smoking is banned in most federal buildings. The District of Columbia recently barred it in public areas, as has Pelosi’s home district of San Francisco.