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Proposed ban on smoking in public places in Missouri sparks debate
Springfield News-Leader
2/6/2010
A bipartisan pair of St. Louis County state representatives have introduced legislation that would ban smoking in all bars, restaurants, casinos and workplaces in Missouri.
The legislators say a statewide ban is needed to protect non-smokers from the harmful health and financial effects of secondhand smoke exposure.
"It's not really a ban on smoking," said Rep. Jill Schupp, the lead Democratic sponsor of the bill. "It's taking smoking out of public places to protect the patrons and the people who work in those places."
But Jeremiah Gill, a local filmmaker and patron of Patton Alley Pub, disagrees.
He said people who work in smoky restaurants and bars seek out those environments, many times because they're smokers themselves -- and patrons know what bars are like.
"Bars are a different scene -- people go to smoke or drink," he said.
He said, as a father, he could understand why areas like hospitals and restaurants should have smoking bans, but he said workplaces and bars are different.
"You know people are addicted," he said. "You're making them restructure their whole life." And banning smoking break rooms will only force employees to smoke in areas that aren't designated, Gill said.
The Society of Actuaries estimates secondhand smoke is to blame for $5 billion in associated medical costs each year and $4.6 billion in lost wages, according to the American Lung Association.
"There are people who will tell you that this will kill the economy," Schupp said. "It's just not the case."
Kaitlyn Smith, manager of Patton Alley Pub, said she doesn't think a ban would cripple the local economy, but that it would have an impact.
"We believe we would definitely lose business, at least for a little while," she said. "Then, we think, as people adjusted to it, things would pick back up."
J Parrino's Pasta House and Bar made the move to become a non-smoking establishment at the end of January.
"This is a positive change for us," said owner Ken Rigby in a news release. "We hope that a non-smoking restaurant will be a more welcoming restaurant for our regular customers and we hope to see some new faces as well."
Farmers Gastropub is another restaurant and bar downtown that opened as a smoke-free facility.
Manager Anton Innerst said the restaurant is focused on organic food from local growers with a dedication to sustainability.
"We think that smoking doesn't go along with sustainable," he said.
He said all the effort involved in choosing organic food would be lost if his customer's couldn't taste the food because of the smoke.
In November, 65 percent of St. Louis County voters approved an indoor smoking ban for most public places.
"With that kind of mandate, I felt like it was something we ought to consider statewide," said Rep. Walt Bivins, the bill's main Republican sponsor.
Since the state's three largest cities -- Kansas City, St. Louis and Springfield -- each have some form of indoor smoking ban, Bivins said there should be "one uniform ban" to make the varying rules less confusing.
The Springfield ordinance, which went into effect in 2003, includes several exceptions.
If a restaurant receives at least 50 percent of its revenue or $200,000 in liquor sales, then they are exempt.
A restaurant that sells liquor can also offer a separate, ventilated area to be exempt from the ban.
The third exemption option is for restaurants with fewer than 50 seats.
Ron Ard's College Street Café is exempt for that reason.
Ard said his customers may be upset by the law, but he expects they'd stay loyal.
"We have a good atmosphere and good food, so I don't think it'll bother us that bad," he said.
Smoke-free rules implemented in various states and cities across the country usually have some exemptions.
For example, St. Louis County casinos were exempted from the countywide ban so that casinos in St. Charles County -- where smoking is still widely permitted -- wouldn't have a competitive advantage.
The proposed state bill would prohibit smoking within 15 feet of bus stops, outdoor playgrounds, the bleachers or grandstands of sports stadiums and the entrances to buildings.
Smoking would be prohibited in at least 80 percent of rooms at hotels in the state.
But hotels would be required to have a separate ventilation system for the smoking rooms, Schupp said.
Retail stores that make at least 75 percent of sales from tobacco products, such as pipe or cigar smoking shops, would be exempted from the ban.
"We would like to see this happen with as few exemptions as possible," Schupp said.
The legislation, House Bill 1766, was introduced Jan. 21, but Speaker Ron Richard has not assigned it to a committee for a hearing.
"If it gets assigned to a committee, we'll see who comes out of the woodwork in opposition to it," Bivins said.
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