Dueling smoking bills likely in '08 legislative session

Publication Date: 2007-07-02

• Author:April Washington
• Publication:Rocky Mountain News

Two state lawmakers plan to push dueling smoking bills next year -- one aimed at easing the smoking ban and the other at closing the "cigar bar" loophole.

If the bills are introduced as planned, the 2008 legislative session would be the fourth in a row where the agenda included the workplace smoking ban.

The first anniversary of the ban was Sunday.

After an unsuccessful bid in 2005 to pass a statewide ban, the Colorado Clean Indoor Air Act was enacted in 2006. This year saw a half-dozen bills introduced to either chip away at the ban or tighten it by outlawing smoking in cigar bars and casinos. The cigar-bar exemption stands; casinos will be smoke-free Jan. 1.