Smokers Want Legislatures To Butt Out

State Senator Vivian Davis Figures has been fighting tooth and nail for over a decade, to pass a state wide smoking ban.
Figures told News Five, "It doesn't hurt anybody for no one to smoke, but it hurts everybody within breathing range if one person smokes and it's been proven."

The proposal would ban smoking from most public places like stores, malls, arenas and restaurants. It would also prohibit smoking within 10 feet from restaurant doors. But Todd Hicks at the Hurricane Brewery says they already accomodate non smokers. He says the ban would only turn smokers away."You can't just you know stop a common practice that people have enjoyed when they go to their local pub, "Said Hicks.
But Bo Bishop with Baumhower's Wings in Mobile says most customers want a smoke free environment. So he is for it."Obviously you're going to upset some people that would rather smoke in an establishment, but if it's a state law and everybody has to abide by the same law, then it's not really affecting one business more than it's affecting another," Said Bishop.
Figures says bars that make no more than 20 percent of their revenue from food sales will be exempt. The bill, approved by the senate on Wednesday, is now on its way to the State House of Representatives. If approved, Alabama would become the 27th state to ban smoking.