Last chance: Tell D.C. Council not to weaken smokefree law

[Angela Bradbery]

SMOKEFREE DC ALERT

Tomorrow, the D.C. Council will vote yet again to weaken the smokefree workplaces law.

You may recall that language passed in June permitted 79 hotels to hold cigar-smoking events once a year. In July, the Council narrowed that to 25 hotels after Smokefree DC objected. 

It appears as though the Council has finally figured out language that really really will make the exemption apply to just two events, as originally intended: Fight Night (a charity fundraiser that is held in the fall) and the St. Patrick’s Day bash held by the Friendly Sons of St. Patrick (to which Jack Evans has ties). 

However, we still have an enormous problem with this, for two reasons:

1) The Council is bypassing the public. Here we have an enormously popular law, and the Council is weakening it without a single public hearing. This should go through the Health Committee. Why isn’t Councilmember David Catania, chair of the committee, insisting on that?

2) This law shouldn’t be weakened, especially not permanently. What the Council is doing is creating an exemption for these two events that will last in perpetuity. That’s insane. The Friendly Sons can still have their event without smoking cigars, and Fight Night can still raise money without cigar-smoking. 

Recently, Councilmember Jack Evans (D-Ward 2) told us that if the exemption went through the Health Committee, he would lose his attempt to get an exemption. 

That's insulting. 

Please tell the Council not to weaken the smokefree law. If lawmakers really think an exemption is a good idea, they should at least let the public have input on it.

Email the Council at dcco...@dccouncil.us.

Thanks for your support.

Angela Bradbery

Co-founder, Smokefree DC

P.S. To read more about this ongoing saga, visit http://www.smokefreedc.org/2011/09/dc-council-smokefree-exemption-cigar/.