Boston Residents Debate On Pros, Cons Of Lifting Exemption Of Bars From Smoking Ban Law

Boston, MA (AHN) - A rigid smoking ban proposed by Boston city officials has sparked public debates in the capital city of Massachusetts.

The Boston Public Health Commission is set to implement soon a sweeping tobacco prohibition to cover bars, which were exempt from the 2004 smoking ban.

Residents are asking where is the line between public safety and personal choice.

Bar owners have protested the widening of the nicotine ban as it would kill their business. On the opposite end, Dr. Barbara Ferrer, director of the Boston Public Health Commission has set 2025 as a target to achieve zero smoking in the city.

A public hearing was held Wednesday in which the standard health warning that smoking is dangerous to one's health was repeated. Proponents of the ban pointed to the drastic drop in smoking-related deaths in Boston after anti-smoking initiatives were made in the city.

The Public Health Commission's seven-member board is scheduled to cast their final vote on Nov. 30 on the proposed wider restriction for tobacco use and sale on restaurants, businesses, college campuses and drugstores.