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Butting in
Montgomery County restaurants lose their
fight for a temporary stop to the October smoking ban
BY BETHANY BROIDA
Capital News Service
Montgomery County Circuit
Judge Patrick L. Woodward on October 8 rejected a request
by three local restaurants to temporarily halt a county ban
on smoking in pubs and eateries.
"This was an important victory for public health," said Councilmember
Phil Andrews (D-Gaithersburg), lead sponsor of the law.
The law, which took effect at midnight on October 8, prohibited
smoking in all restaurants and bars in Montgomery County.
The county restaurants who brought the issue to courtÑtwo
Clyde's establishments and the Anchor InnÑargued before
Woodward that the ban will hurt public restaurants because
it exempts private clubs, fraternal organizations and the
City of Gaithersburg. The restaurantsÕ representatives
had asked Woodward to temporarily halt the law until the issues
could be further explored at trial.
"Gaithersburg is going to be an oasis for smokers in Montgomery
County," said Robert Keene, who represented the restaurants.
"This is going to have a devastating impact on a number of
restaurants and bars that allow smoking. Depending upon how
long this plays out, many could go out of business."
Woodward determined the restaurants failed to meet one of
the standards for granting a preliminary injunction: that
of proving there was a real probability of winning on the
merits of the case in court.
All the parties expect the case will proceed as planned despite
the ruling.
The Montgomery County Council enacted the law in July after
a similar ban passed as a health regulation was thrown out
by the Maryland Court of Appeals in May.
In the earlier case, a judge ruled that the county should
not have passed the prohibition as a health regulation. In
OctoberÕs case, Woodward said the County Council can
act with broader authority. He also ruled that Maryland law
prohibits the county from imposing the ban on private clubs.
"We are very pleased with the judge's decision," said Montgomery
County Executive Douglas Duncan. "Our law will protect both
restaurant workers and patrons from the health effects of
secondhand smoke."
More than 1,000 Marylanders die each year from secondhand
smoke, according to a press release from Smoke Free Maryland,
an anti-smoking grassroots organization. The American Cancer
Society estimates that 3,200 Marylanders will be diagnosed
with lung cancer in 2003.
"Secondhand smoke is a health issue first and foremost,"
said Kari Appler, Smoke Free Maryland project director. "This
is a great model for statewide smoke-free legislation."
In a March 2003 poll, 67 percent of residents of the Washington
suburbs, including Montgomery County, supported smoke-free
public places
Similar smoking bans are in place in California, Delaware,
Connecticut and Florida and in New York City, Boston, Massachusetts,
and Austin, Texas. The District of Columbia is also considering
a similar law.
Anti-smoking activists celebrated the decision on October
9 at Clyde's of Chevy Chase.
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