There will be a public hearing May 9 about prohibiting smoking in public places, including bars and restaurants and within 20 feet of the entrance to most enclosed areas.
By: Linda Seida
NEW HOPE The borough of tolerance where everyone from gays and lesbians to the transgendered and bisexual are accepted and welcomed may not be so tolerant of one minority in the near future.
Smokers may soon find themselves in the role of outcast.
May 9, residents and business owners can have their say at a public hearing held by the Borough Council to determine if smoking should be banned in public places, including bars and restaurants and within 20 feet of the entrances to most enclosed areas.
"We’re not happy about it," said Garland Lamb, a bartender and waitress at John and Peter’s, a live music club on South Main Street.
"We’ve had several nonsmoking shows, and, as a smoker, I enjoyed it," Ms. Lamb said. Still, she added, "It’s about rights. We’re giving away our rights one by one."
Jorge Armenteros owns A Little Taste of Cuba, a South Main Street cigar shop where customers can light up to sample the luxury tobacco products before buying. The proposed ban wouldn’t affect his business, but he said he’s still against it.
"It’s interesting it’s happening in New Hope, which has always been a famously tolerant community," Mr. Armenteros said. "I think it’s a feel-good law. It sounds good in theory, but business owners should have the right to decide what legal activities occur on their premises. I don’t agree with the definition of public places being private businesses."
Also upsetting to him is the part of the ban that would outlaw smoking within 20 feet of an entrance.
"They don’t draw a distinction between odor annoyance and a health hazard," he said. "It seems we’ve gotten to the point where you have the right to legislate against odor annoyance."
Borough Council President Richard Hirschfield said officials are not trying to be Big Brother.
A former longtime smoker who quit 25 years ago, he said, "I can empathize."
He added, "But they don’t have a right to smoke in other people’s living room so to speak."
Mr. Hirschfield said officials have received complaints about smoking in public places such as restaurants, although he could not say how many. He also noted some establishments in town voluntarily went nonsmoking, but were persuaded to revert to smoking by pressure from fellow businesses.
He declined to name the businesses, not wanting to add more pressure to what they’re already experiencing.
Last year, Pennsylvania was considering enacting a smoking ban in indoor public places as New Jersey did, but the ban in Pennsylvania never materialized.
"If we can’t depend on the state to protect us, we have to protect ourselves," Mr. Hirschfield said.
For New Jersey’s drinking establishments and restaurants, that state’s ban last year "just cleaned up the air over there," Mr. Hirschfield said. "Now the smokers come over here."
The proposed Smoking in Public Places Ordinance spells out the hazards of smoking and secondhand smoke. It cites hazards published by the federal Environmental Protection Agency in 1992 and the Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine in 2004.
It also cites a 2001 report by the National Cancer Institute that says there are 69 known or probable carcinogens in tobacco smoke and the 1986 U.S. surgeon general’s warning that concluded secondhand smoke can cause lung cancer in healthy nonsmokers.
"The time has come," Mr. Hirschfield said.
If the council approves the draft ordinance, smoking would be prohibited at all borough offices, including police offices and Borough Hall, food and beverage establishments and bars.
Exceptions would include outdoor service areas of bars and restaurants and sidewalk cafes and private clubs.
Police and the code enforcement official would be in charge of enforcement. Penalties would include a fine of up to $600, 90 days community service or imprisonment, or all of the above.

