Indianapolis Star: Advocates want ban on smoking broadened
Effort would make all workplaces smoke-free, including bars
Indianapolis is on the brink of yet another contentious battle over whether the rights of smokers should be restricted to protect the health of others.Smoke Free Indy, a coalition of health advocates that successfully pushed for Marion County’s limited smoking ban three years ago, is now lobbying to outlaw smoking in every workplace in the county, including bars.“We feel people shouldn’t have to choose between their job and their health,” said Lindsay Grace, campaign coordinator for the group. “We can’t cater to a minority (smokers) anymore.”According to Indiana Tobacco Prevention and Cessation, 24.1 percent of adult Hoosiers were smokers in 2007.Smoking is already prohibited in restaurants that serve anyone younger than 18.Impassioned debate preceded the passage of the existing measure, and it’s expected again, with bar owners and others arguing that such measures hurt their business and infringe on their rights.Some restaurants that decided to continue to allow smokers complained of losing their family dining business after the ban was passed, but nearly 500 bars, bowling alleys, private clubs and other businesses did ban smoking.A restaurant or bar’s ability to make such a choice would be extinguished if Smoke Free Indy succeeds.The group also is working at the state level, pushing Indiana to join neighbors Ohio and Illinois, which have already made all of their workplaces smoke-free.Smoke Free Indy’s ally in the Statehouse, Rep. Charlie Brown, D-Gary, is planning to introduce legislation calling for a statewide smoking ban in all workplaces. He introduced the same bill last year, but property tax reform efforts pushed it aside. Brown believes people who work where smoking is allowed are being treated like second-class citizens because they are subjected to secondhand smoke.A recent study showed a 41 percent drop in heart attack hospitalizations three years after a workplace smoking ban went into effect in Pueblo, Colo. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said the study — considered the best on the topic — suggests an under-recognized link between secondhand smoke and heart attack deaths.In the state Senate, Sen. Sue Errington, D-Muncie, has filed a bill that would prohibit smoking in workplaces, with exceptions for tobacco stores, designated hotel rooms and outdoor work areas.Gov. Mitch Daniels said he believes in leaving the decision to local government but he is willing to talk about the issue with the legislature.At the local level, Republican City-County Councilman Kent Smith said he plans to hold three town hall meetings this month and next to measure public reaction. He said he favors an expanded ban for health and economic reasons but will let the opinions of his constituents dictate whether he pushes for an outright ban.Indianapolis Mayor Greg Ballard said he won’t campaign for or against an expansion of the ordinance because it is not a priority for him.
Worried about business
Smith expects an emotional debate.If he were to ask card players at American Legion Post 497 on the Westside, he’d likely get an earful.“Too many people get offended by smokers,” said James Hamer, 84, who quit smoking 50 years ago and survived lung cancer after fighting in World War II and Korea.“Life’s too short to worry about other people,” he said. “If you don’t like the smoke where you go, don’t go there.”Advocates of the proposed ban argue that while customers can choose where they eat or drink, employees of such establishments have no such choice.A bartender at the post, Carrie Loyal, 34, a smoker herself, said her customers fought for the freedoms enjoyed by citizens of this country and should not have their rights taken away.She also predicted the business would not survive.“If we were to ban smoking,” Loyal said, “we would lose our customers and probably end up closing our doors.”Bar and restaurant owners made similar predictions about losing business when the council debated the current smoking ban.A 2007 Ball State University study done for Smoke Free Indy found the law had no statistical impact on Marion County bar and restaurant sales or employment.Bruce Hetrick, who owns a public relations business and volunteers for Smoke Free Indy, presented the case for an outright ban to a council committee a month ago.Hetrick’s wife, Pam Klein, a former Indianapolis Star business editor, did not smoke but died of lung cancer, which he attributes to years of exposure to secondhand smoke.Hetrick said the city has lived for nearly three years with a watered-down smoking ban.“We can’t afford to fall behind other world-class cities,” he said. “We need to lead, not follow.”Hamer and some of the other guys at the post will have Brad Klopfenstein, executive director of the Indiana Licensed Beverage Association, on their side in the fight to come.“In this economy, anything that restricts business opportunities isn’t good,” Klopfenstein said. “And if there has to be a law, it should be statewide so it doesn’t pit town against town.”
Owner supports broader ban
Although some restaurant owners say they have lost business, others report gains in overall sales, even if their bar tabs dropped off.“It was a difficult decision,” said Tom Campbell, co-owner of the Union Jack Pub in Broad Ripple, which is now smoke-free. “It has hurt our bar business. But I would not go back, even though I’m a smoker.”He supports a comprehensive workplace smoking ban, he said, because it would level the playing field for all of Marion County’s restaurants and bars.It also would put Indianapolis on par with a growing number of Indiana cities and counties.Bloomington, Cumberland, Fort Wayne, Plainfield, Zionsville and, most recently, Hancock County have passed smoke-free workplace ordinances that cover bars.Nationally, 24 states and 331 municipalities have enacted similarly comprehensive laws, according to the American Nonsmokers’ Rights Foundation.