Capital bans smoking in restaurants, bars

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Lighting up in restaurants and bars would become illegal in the nation's capital under a smoking ban approved Tuesday by the city council, a move the mayor warned would send residents and tourists across the Potomac River to dine in more lenient suburbs.
"We should not impose a blanket ban on all of our restaurants," Mayor Anthony Williams said in a statement. "To do so puts the district at a competitive disadvantage."
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