BERKELEY ANTI-SMOKING LAW STRICTER THAN STATE'S.

Byline: Knight-Ridder Tribune News Wire

Seeking to enforce provisions in a statewide anti-smoking law passed last year, Berkeley has enacted its own tobacco control ordinance, which makes all of Berkeley's work sites smoke-free - including bars.

The city took the action because the 1995 statewide ordinance has been stymied by technical standards that are nearly impossible to meet, said Dr. Poki Namkung, Berkeley's health officer.

After a moratorium period that provides time for businesses to comply with the new regulations, the ordinance, passed earlier this month, will become law Feb. 16, 1997. Smoking will be prohibited in all bars, all enclosed public places - except tobacco stores and bingo parlors with separate ventilator systems and 25 percent of designated hotel rooms. Smoking also will be forbidden in outdoor public places such as sidewalk cafes, stadiums and outdoor theaters.

``This ordinance is designed to protect workers, particularly bar workers who have the highest mortality rates in lung cancer and cardiovascular disease,'' said Namkung said.

The Berkeley legislation will not reduce all risk but will provide significantly more protection for workers against secondhand smoke, a carcinogen that kills more than 53,000 people annually nationwide.

Individuals will not be prosecuted for smoking. Penalties will be levied on the owners of the buildings and businesses that permit smoking.

The statewide anti-smoking ordinance was to have been implemented in January, but tobacco companies have managed to delay implementation until ventilation standards are universally established, Namkung said. According to the California Occupational Safety and Health Administration, this is technologically impossible since tobacco smoke is a carcinogen for which there is no safe level of exposure, effectively leaving implementation of the state law in limbo, she added.