Measure would allow
smoking in Big Isle bars
HILO >> Smoking would still be allowed in Big Island bars and other workplaces under the latest version of a no-smoking bill before the Hawaii County Council.
The county already has a limited ban on smoking in public places, and the Council has been working for months to strengthen it by banning smoking in bars and by other provisions. All four counties now allow smoking in bars.
The new version of the no-smoking bill, introduced by Council Chairman Jimmy Arakaki, would allow smoking in bars as well as remove a proposed ban on smoking in any private home used as a child care, adult care or health care facility.
Councilman Bob Jacobson issued a statement accusing Arakaki of "gutting" the no-smoking bill. Jacobson worked for 25 years as a registered nurse specializing in respiratory care.
Last month, a committee of the Council approved the smoking ban that included bars, with Arakaki casting the only vote against it. That bill was introduced by Councilwoman Bobby Jean Leithead-Todd.
The new bill will be considered by the Council again Wednesday at the Ohana Keauhou Beach Resort in Kona starting at 9 a.m.
Arakaki said he proposed removing bars and home care facilities because of concerns raised by Mayor Harry Kim.
In a letter, Kim told Arakaki that a ban on smoking in bars "should be carefully considered." Kim also suggested that smoking not be banned in parts of a home if children or other clients receiving care were not allowed to enter those areas.
Clifford Chang, of the Coalition for a Tobacco Free Hawaii, said state law already bans smoking throughout care homes "during hours of operation," and the county law should conform to that.
Kim said he raised concerns because "some of the provisions of this proposal (approved in committee) go farther than necessary and will be very difficult to enforce."
A nonsmoker, Kim told the Star-Bulletin, "I'd like to see some day that we don't have smoking, period."
Councilman Fred Holschuh, a doctor and former smoker, said the purpose of strengthening the smoking ban is to protect "nonsmoking victims."
But if necessary, he said, he might compromise on bars.
"I clearly do not want to lose this bill and have it die because the bars are a deal-breaker," he said.