PHOENIX - A Tucson legislator wants to snuff out smoking in Arizona bars and restaurants.
Democratic Rep. Linda Lopez said she is seeking a statewide ban on smoking similar to the strict anti-smoking rules in place in Tempe in order to protect the health of employees subject to second hand smoke.
"Lots of people don't have a choice about where they work, especially with the state of the economy," Lopez said. "Bar workers deserve a safe working environment. ... If you are around smoke eight hours a day every day of the week, that's pretty traumatizing."
Lopez had yet to officially submit the bill Wednesday as she continued to collect signatures from supporters but said she is planning to present it sometime next week.
While health organizations have rallied behind the bill, bar owners began voicing their opposition to the legislation, calling it a violation of property rights that hampers competition.
In a statement posted on the Arizona Licensed Beverage Association's Web site, the group blasted the proposed ban saying, "Property rights distinguish us from failed societies that refused to recognize these important rights. We therefore will remain steadfast in our determination that property owners and business people have a right to control their property and their business."
If passed into law the bill would ban smoking statewide but would not apply to businesses on Arizona's Indian reservations, which are governed by Federal law.
The ban would give an unfair advantage to bars and casinos on the reservations and drain patrons from bars and restaurants on state lands, said ALBA President Bill Weigele.
Lopez acknowledged that people could smoke on the Indian reservation but said that she believes that the tribes would join in the ban on their own.
Weigle said employees are not forced to work in smoking bars or restaurants with smoking areas because there are many restaurants that are smoke-free.
"There is not an outcry from the people that use those facilities; nor is there an outcry from the employees that work there," Weigele said. "What you have is a couple of zealots from the health industry that want to clean all the air in the world ... I don't think that's a realistic goal."
Dave Chiapetta, manager of O'Malley's on Fourth, said he didn't believe the legislation would pass.
"We have a 50/50 division between smokers and nonsmokers," he said.
If passed, Chiapetta said the bill would affect O'Malley's temporarily but that people would still be able to smoke on the business's patio.
Mark Cohen, owner of the university-area bar Belushe's, said he has taken steps to accommodate nonsmokers at his bar by adding smoking porches and designated smoke-free areas.
He fears that an all-out smoking ban could ruin his business and make his compromises nill.
Cohen said that an outright ban of smoking in bars and restaurants on state lands would push patrons to the nearby Tohono O'odham Indian reservation where casinos have bars that allow smoking.
"If they ban it altogether, it's definitely going to hurt business," Cohen said. "Smoking and drinking seem to go hand in hand."
Cohen said he believes most bar owners wouldn't mind designating a no-smoking area, but believes the smoking ban would give reservation bars an unfair advantage.
"It just wouldn't be fair," Cohen said.
Lopez said she is ready to move forward with the proposed ban despite the opposition.
"It's the right thing to do. Arizona is ready to be a smoke-free state," Lopez said.
Samantha Deitch, a journalism junior, does not smoke and said the ban would be beneficial to everyone.
"I think smoking is disgusting, and it's not fair to people who don't want to smoke," she said.
Others said that smoking is a part of the bar experience.
"It's sad that one group can dominate someone else. I personally don't mind leaving. Separate smoking rooms are good enough," said Jennifer Diana, a molecular and cellular biology junior.
Tucson banned smoking in restaurants in 1999, requiring restaurant owners to create designated smoking areas with separate ventilation systems, but bars remained unaffected.
- Andy Chang contributed to this report.