By Laura Weber, Michigan Public Radio Network
http://stream.publicbroadcasting.net/production/mp3/wkar/local-wkar-838401.mp3
(Lansing, MI) – A state House committee plans to vote today on a workplace smoking ban.
The House committee heard testimony over the past few months. Casino executives want to be exempt from the ban because they say it would hurt business and cause them to get rid of employees, but doctors say there should be no exemptions because the chemicals in second-hand smoke will slowly kill employees anyway.
Committee Chair Bert Johnson says it's time to put some sort of smoking ban to bed. He sites North Carolina as the most recent state to sign a smoking ban. "I gotta tell you, if tobacco road can get it done, then Michigan has got to follow suit and we've got to get a ban in place. So, we're all committed to that."
North Carolina is the largest producer of tobacco in the country and the 33rd state to sign a workplace smoking ban. Michigan failed to pass a similar ban in 2007.