Letter to the Editor- Statewide Smoking Ban

For:

Roughly 50,000 nonsmoking Americans die every year from diseases caused by secondhand smoke according to the American Lung Association. These deaths can be prevented. While secondhand smoke occurs in many places, bars and restaurants are notorious for their integration of smokers into public areas. In the recent decade, there has been a surge of attention brought to the issue of smoking. As a result, smoking bans across the United States are being approved. The bars and restaurants complain that these new laws hurt revenue, but the smoking ban is one step toward a healthier America.

Smokers are affecting more than just themselves when they choose to smoke in public places. The National Smoking Control Program (NSCP) states that there are over 4,000 harmful chemicals found in cigarette smoke, of which 400 are poisonous and 50 are known carcinogens. When smokers exhale after taking a drag, the harmful chemicals are released into the air. According to the NSCP, about 90 percent of the smoke from every cigarette ends up in the air as environmental tobacco smoke. This smoke is potent and dangerous, especially in enclosed public places such as bars and restaurants.

Indoor dining establishments have always attracted the smoking crowd. Bars are a great place to meet with friends and possibly share a drink or two. Unfortunately, smokers take it upon themselves to ruin this atmosphere. They fill the air with toxic chemicals from their secondhand smoke. Nonsmokers in the area are forced to either breathe the harmful smoke or leave. Exposure to secondhand smoke has many negative health effects including lung cancer and heart disease, which may lead to death. Perhaps the most startling aspect of secondhand smoke related deaths is that they can all be prevented.

Restriction on smoking in public areas is essential for preventing harm to nonsmokers. Bars and restaurants are shared by smokers and nonsmokers alike; however, some smokers continue to smoke indoors, where their smoke is trapped and inhaled by nonsmokers. Smokers have always had the freedom to smoke outside, where their bad habit only affects themselves. Businesses need to acknowledge that some nonsmokers choose to live in a smoke-free environment. A statewide ban of smoking in public areas would eliminate secondhand smoke in restaurants and bars, potentially saving thousands of lives.

Against:

Imposing a statewide smoking ban would be devastating for businesses. The ban drives away the smoking crowd as well as the revenue they generate. Restaurants, bars, and hotels rely heavily on catering to smoking consumers. If those consumers cannot smoke, they would most likely look for somewhere else to spend their time. An absence of smokers will ruin business and possibly lead to a layoff of employees. It is not fair for restaurants, bars, and hotels to suffer the consequences of the smoking ban.

Dr. Mark Clayson, a graduate of King’s College in London, has researched the effects of a smoking ban in many countries. In most of the cases, businesses saw a significant drop in revenue after a smoking ban was issued. Dr. Clayson knows that secondhand smoke is dangerous, and the facts are well known; however, there are other statistics that have gone largely unnoticed. These statistics describe the effects of smoking bans on businesses.

According to the American Cancer Society, one in four Americans smoke. Since the smoking ban has begun, bars across the United States have seen a 40 percent decrease in business. This plummet in revenue has forced these businesses to lay off employees. Smokers who continue to go to bars have to smoke outside. Some of these smokers are also intoxicated. As a result, communities have seen an increase in noise complaints. These negative effects have occurred in other countries as well.

Canadian businesses have experienced an overwhelming reduction of customers. Dr. Clayson discovered that just 80 days after the smoking ban, British Columbia’s hospitality industry suffered $8 million worth of losses. This includes nearly 800 layoffs and the closure of 9 businesses. For example, the Werx Club used to bring in $1,500 on the average night, and now the club only makes $150. It is not only bars and restaurants that are being affected. Charitable bingo halls across British Columbia have seen a drop of $5 million.

Smokers know the risks they take when they light up a cigarette. Bars, restaurants, and hotels should not have to suffer for the choices that these smokers make. Nonsmokers and smokers have co-existed in restaurants and bars for decades. A smoking ban only hurts the bars and restaurants that have brought these two kinds of people together. If a smoking ban is enforced, the economy would suffer, and jobs will be lost.