Long Beach : Council Further Restricts Smoking in Public Areas

Smokers will find themselves squeezed into smaller public places in Long Beach while forces on either side of the tobacco debate gear up for an April 12 ballot measure.

The City Council voted 7 to 0 Tuesday for an interim ordinance that will limit smoking areas in restaurants and bars to one-fifth of seating area. Currently, smokers are allowed in one-third of all dining rooms.

Councilmen Evan Anderson Braude and Douglas S. Drummond were absent from the meeting.

If the interim ordinance is given final passage Nov. 9, the interim ordinance will go into effect Dec. 9 and remain on the books until the election, when voters will decide whether the city should have tougher restrictions.

The council also gave final approval to a measure to place the strict smoking ban on the ballot, at a cost of $35,000, a city spokesman said.

The tougher anti-smoking measure was passed by the council in July but was blocked by a successful petition drive sponsored by the tobacco industry. The ballot measure, if passed, will ban smoking in restaurants, bowling alleys, bingo parlors, hair salons and other public places. In addition, two-thirds of all seating in bars and outdoor eating areas would be set aside for nonsmokers.