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Excerpts from: Maryland Village Endorses a Ban on Outdoor Smoking

          By THE NEW YORK TIMES [11/25/00]

               CHEVY CHASE, Md., Nov. 22 — Smoking
               outdoors will soon be outlawed in a small
          corner of Maryland, except on private property, if
          the local Village Council gets its way.

          In Friendship Heights, a neighborhood of about
          5,000 residents in Chevy Chase, just outside
          Washington, the Council is seeking county
          approval for a ban on smoking in all public
          spaces that are maintained by the village.

          Under the ban, smoking on sidewalks, streets,
          patches of grass or any other area owned by the
          village would be punished with a $100 fine.
          Anyone discarding tobacco products in those
          areas would also be subject to the fine.

          If the regulation is approved by Montgomery
          County, Friendship Heights will have the most
          far-reaching ban on outdoor smoking in the
          nation, according to Americans for Nonsmokers'
          Rights, a group that works to limit the exposure
          of nonsmokers to secondhand smoke.

          Some 60 jurisdictions nationwide already ban
          outdoor smoking in some form, but none of the
          bans extend beyond enclosed public spaces —
          like stadiums, beaches or parks — to the
          sidewalks and streets outside, the group says.

          The County Council is expected to vote on the
          measure on Dec. 12.

          The prime mover behind the ban, Alfred Muller,
          the mayor of Friendship Heights, said that the
          goal was not only to deter smoking, but also to
          protect civil rights.

          As an example, Dr. Muller, a physician, brought
          up the case of a resident with asthma who often
          had to cross the street to avoid smokers.
          Otherwise, Dr. Muller said, "he would get smoke
          in his face. He would start coughing and it might
          set off an asthma attack."

         The regulation's prospects in the County Council
          are uncertain, officials said. But Dr. Muller said
          that he liked its chances and that the regulation
          was consistent with other county and state laws.

          "You're not allowed to walk down the street with
          alcohol," he said, "and no one makes a fuss
          about that."

          "Public areas," he said, "were not built for people
          to do whatever they want."