FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE July 19, 2011

Contact: Peg O’Connell—919-208-5226 poconnell@fuquaysolutions.com

Health Advocates Applaud Court Decision Upholding Smoke Free Law Liebes, Gate City Billiards Country Club v Guilford County Department of Public Health

Raleigh—The North Carolina Court of Appeals today upheld the Guilford County Health Department’s fines of Gates City Billiards for violation of the state’s smoke free bar and restaurant law. It its ruling, the Court determined that there was a “rational basis” for the legislature to distinguish between for-profit and not-for-profit clubs in applying the smoking ban and that the law did pass constitutional muster. “We are so pleased that the North Carolina Court of Appeals determined that the Guilford County Health Department was correct in the way it applied the law, but more importantly we are very happy that the Court affirmed previous rulings that found that our smoke free bar and restaurant law is constitutional and that the legislature was correct in making a distinction between private not-for-profit clubs and the type of private clubs that are really just bars,” said Pam Seamans, Policy Director of the North Carolina Alliance for Health, the advocacy group that led efforts to have the smoking ban enacted. “Our hope is that the Court’s ruling in this case will guide their consideration of the legal challenge that is coming from a bar in Pitt County and finally put the issue of the law’s constitutionality to rest,” she said. “Secondhand smoke contains more than 7,000 chemicals, including at least 69 carcinogens, and the evidence is clear that smoke-free laws protect health of both the patrons of bars and restaurants, as well as workers in these establishments. The US Surgeon General and health experts from across the county have repeatedly warned that there is no safe level of exposure to second hand smoke,” said Seamans. In May 2009, North Carolina became the 26th state to pass a smoke-free law that protects workers and the public from the serious health hazards of secondhand smoke in public places and hospitality venues. The law went into effect on January 2, 2010.

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