Familiar Sides Square Off in Arlington Smoking Ban Lawsuit

ARLINGTON — Jeff Pitts says he ought to be able to decide on his own whether his billiards hall should be smoke-free or not."As competitive as the mom-and-pop bar business is, if we thought it would be profitable to go non-smoking, we would do it," said Pitts, one of the owners of Rustys Billiards in Arlington.But the city isn't leaving that decision to him after revising its smoking ban ordinance to make smoking a no-no almost everywhere in the city. The revised measure completely snuffs out smoking in bars, billiard rooms, sexually oriented businesses and other establishments that had previously been granted some exemptions under the original ban that became law in 1985.The City Council passed the revised smoking ordinance by a 7-2 vote during its May 9 meeting. The revised ban does not regulate electronic cigarettes.  Continue reading...