O’Brien hails Senate action on smoking ban

Pennsylvania House of Representatives

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O’Brien hails Senate action on smoking ban

HARRISBURG, June 10 – House Speaker Dennis O’Brien said today’s final passage by the Senate, coupled with action by the House last week to approve a statewide ban on smoking in most public places, is a great step toward better health for Pennsylvanians.

“Second-hand smoke is a leading cause of disease and death. By joining a majority of states that already have smoking bans in varying degrees, Pennsylvania is taking a large stride forward in improving the health of residents and visitors.

“This will be rightly viewed as one of the significant achievements during this legislative session. Special congratulations are due to the six conferees who produced this compromise bill. They worked for many months at a difficult job,” O’Brien said.

“I want to thank Representatives Bob Belfanti, Mike Gerber and Ron Miller for their excellent work on behalf of the House and Senators Stewart Greenleaf, Chuck McIlhinney and Bob Mellow for working in the best tradition of a true conference committee.

“The existing Philadelphia smoking ordinance will remain in place, and it’s worth taking note that the new state law is very similar to the city’s ordinance. They are substantially the same,” he said.

O’Brien also noted that the House included a ban on smoking in its area of the Capitol in changes to House rules made at the beginning of 2007.

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