Two bills introduced in 2011 remain alive this year and would open the door to licensing facilities that cater to cigar smokers – including an estimated 500 licensed tobacco vendors. Senate Bill 5542 passed the Senate on a 26-to-21 vote last year then died; House Bill 1683 also was introduced. Both bills died in House Ways and Means, and both were reintroduced automatically for 2012.
A background story is here. The bills could raise $4.2 million for the state through licensing fees, according to a fiscal report done last May.
EMC Research of Seattle questioned 500 respondents considered likely voters in November 2012 and said its poll has an error margin of 4.4 percent. A one-page summary of the poll is here, but it fails to spell out the phrasing of the questions asked.
The poll was done for the Campaign for Tobacco Free Kids and state chapters for the American Heart Association, Lung Association and Cancer Society. They did the poll to gauge sentiment about the state law and help fight back against any new effort to change the clean-air law, according to Culp of the Heart Association.
The poll was done for the Campaign for Tobacco Free Kids and state chapters for the American Heart Association, Lung Association and Cancer Society. [Update: Funding also came from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.] They did the poll to gauge sentiment about the state law and help fight back against any new effort to change the clean-air law, according to Culp of the Heart Association.
Sen. Jerome Delvin, R-Richland, sponsored SB 5542 last year and said he is not surprised to hear there is strong support for the public smoking ban that voters passed by a strong margin. But he questioned how the poll was worded and said he is pursuing the bill again this year. He predicted it will pass the Senate again and will need to get a floor vote in the House, where he thinks he had enough votes to pass it last year.
He said the law change is needed to avoid what he called "the nanny state. You’re making a choice on something that doesn’t affect some else. Why not allow that choice?’’
The Senate bill would limit the number of licensed tobacco shops to 500 and tobacco lounges at 100.
UPDATE on original Jan. 10 post: Erin Dziedzic of the American Cancer Society’s Cancer Action Network said the smoking ban law question was worded as follows: “In 2005 a statewide law went into effect that prohibits smoking inside all public places, including all workplaces, bars, and restaurants in Washington State. Do you support or oppose this law? (IF SUPPORT/OPPOSE) Is that strongly [support/oppose] or somewhat [support/oppose]?”
The cigar lounge question was worded like this: “There is a proposal to change Washington’s clean indoor air law and allow cigar smoking in dedicated areas of some stores, restaurants, and bars. In general, do you strongly support, somewhat support, somewhat oppose, or strongly oppose this change to the state’s clean indoor air law?”
