The North Carolina House has approved a bid to ban secondhand smoke from restaurants and other businesses where children are present.

Lawmakers in the country’s top tobacco-growing state voted 72-45 on Thursday to send the proposed limit on secondhand smoke to the state Senate, where top leaders said they expect the limited smoking ban to pass.

A broader proposal that would have banned smoking from all workplaces, including bars and restaurants, was changed Wednesday. The measure now would ban smoking in businesses that employ or serve anyone under age 18, but not to most other businesses.

Fines for businesses that break the law are even more rare, critics say.

Rep. Melanie Goodwin, (D-Richmond County), a co-sponsor of the bill, says more could have been done.

“There were some amendments made,” she said Thursday. “The bill that passed in the House was not as strong as I hoped it would be. I was prepared to support a stronger bill, but, like many things in the legislature, the key is compromise. Now we’ll see what the Senate does with it.”

Under the current bill, business owners would get two warnings before a fine would be issued.

The bill was amended Thursday to allow smoking in private, nonprofit clubs such as country clubs or VFW halls.

The bill was also found lacking by some health groups.

“As amended, this legislation sends a message that the health of certain workers really isn’t that important,” said Betsy Vetter, Director of Government Relations for the American Heart Association and chair for the North Carolina Alliance for Health.

“This legislation isn’t just about protecting minors — its about protecting the health of all workers,” said Vetter. “The same rights that apply to legislators - to breathe smoke-free indoor air — is not afforded to workers in sites that are exempted.”

“We’re concerned that a few legislators’ desire to protect the tobacco industry in North Carolina seemed to override their larger duty to protect all workers,” said Ashley Bell, Director of Government Relations for the American Cancer Society. “The bill as approved by the House protects only certain classes of workers. That is not good enough for North Carolina.”

House Bill 2 (HB2), sponsored by Rep. Hugh Holliman (D-Davidson), was voted down by a narrow margin in the House in 2005 and 2007. North Carolina has the opportunity to join 22 other states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico in passing smoke-free workplace legislation.

“We deeply appreciate the efforts of our legislators and dedicated supporters who committed themselves to this important bill,” said Pam Seamans, Policy Director for the North Carolina Alliance for Health. “Passing smoke-free legislation as it was intended would have been an important step toward reducing our state’s health care costs, but more importantly, protecting all North Carolinians from the anguish of severe illness and death caused by secondhand smoke.”

“We look forward to working with members of the Senate to restore this bill to its original strength,” said Deborah Bryan, N.C. State Executive for the American Lung Association.