Senate OKs Airline Smoking Bill

WASHINGTON — The Senate, on a voice vote, today approved a ban on cigarette smoking on airline flights scheduled to last 90 minutes or less, a prohibition that would cover more than half of all domestic routes.

The restrictions would last two years. The wording of the prohibition is a change from the original version, which would have affected flights of up to two hours and lasted three years. But those terms were opposed by senators from Southern tobacco states, and the new wording was reached after several hours of closed-door negotiations.