JOPLIN, Mo. —
Thirty years ago I would have agreed that pursuing a ban on workplace smoking would be controversial.
However, the other night I heard at least two Joplin City Council members agree that smoking in business establishments was indeed a business owner’s “property right.”
It would be almost laughable if it weren’t so tragic. The cold hard fact is that a slim majority of Joplin’s City Council members are lost in time when it comes to making decisions based on scientific fact in order to protect the public from secondhand smoke. Rather than look at the existing science related to the dangers of secondhand smoke these members looked back in time again and again for ways to justify their personal beliefs.
Three of the council members stated that patrons should simply “vote with their feet” if they didn’t like smoking in restaurants.
“Let the market decide” was another answer. One council member argued repeatedly that he was told by one owner that “all the waitresses but one” smoked at that restaurant. His argument was that the overwhelming majority of waitresses and bartenders smoke and therefore are not worthy of any ordinance to protect the public health. These responses merit those council members for lifetime membership in the Flat Earth Society. After two sessions of back and forth on these issues, the end result was that the council played the role of Pontius Pilate, washing its hands of the matter and turning it over to the voters.
The reality is that business has no implied property right to allow smoking in their establishments. That is for the local or state jurisdictions to decide, whether done by the legislative process or voter referendum. The original ordinance, proposed by Smoke-Free Joplin would ban smoking in all workplaces, including restaurants, bars and private clubs, and public outdoor patios. In my opinion, whether to ban smoking in outdoor seating should be the only area of legitimate debate.
Clearly, over the past 20 years, there has been an enormous accumulation of evidence that exposure to indoor secondhand smoke is a health risk. It is much less clear as to the risk of exposure to secondhand smoke in an outdoor setting. This is not to say that there isn’t any risk. It simply isn’t known at this time. In 1990, the risk of secondhand smoke in indoor environments had only begun to be understood. In 2010, we have a much clearer picture of the dangers of secondhand smoke. In 1964, the American public was stunned by the findings of the Surgeon General’s Report on Smoking and Health. The tobacco industry tried for decades to “debate” the science. Yet, in 2010, no reasonable person disputes the findings or the science that smoking kills when used as intended. The only people who disputed the findings were engaged in a business or enterprise that in some way profited from the sale or continued use of tobacco.
The Joplin City Council must decide the final form of this ordinance that will go before the voters. I suggest that the only negotiable item on the proposed ordinance is whether a local smoking ban should include the outdoor seating areas of restaurants and bars.
William L. Edwards is co-chairman Smoke-Free Joplin.
Opinion
William L. Edwards, guest columnist: Smoking is not a ‘property right’
- Opinion
-
-
Our View: Victims should come first
Millions of dollars in donations have poured in from around the world since the May 22, 2011, tornado. Those donations represent money from lemonade stands, charity auctions, corporate gifts and celebrity checks, just to name a few. In fact, one year later donations continue to come to Joplin.
-
Beth Meeker, guest columnist: Same-sex marriage battle a quest for equal rights
I would like to take a moment to reply to guest columnist Anson Burlingame’s, “The Marriage Debate” (Globe, May 13).
-
Sunday Forum: 2012 graduation speakers key on tornado, mall school and president’s visit
Editor’s note: In addition to speeches by President Barack Obama and Gov. Jay Nixon, Joplin High School’s top students addressed graduates, faculty, parents and other guests packed into the Leggett & Platt Athletic Center on the Missouri Southern State University campus. Following are the text of those speeches.
-
Geoff Caldwell, guest columnist: Pack mentality takes truth as a casualty
President Obama’s Joplin graduation speech Monday showed that while there’s the political “right,” there’s also a very active “rabid” political right.
-
Your View: ‘Study’ can mean anything
A few evenings ago, I watched a television program on the science of marriage.
-
Our View: Support for museum
How can you tell the story of Joplin without the accounts of its mining history?
-
Our View: Finding middle ground
The G-8 summit held last week in Camp David ended as expected.
-
Anson Burlingame, guest columnist: Class of 2012 upholds character, hope
My oldest granddaughter was part of the class of 2012 from Joplin High School, and I attended the ceremony on Monday night.
-
Scott Charton, guest columnist: 'Deadline in Disaster' film a story about storytellers
Local newspapers are at their best when they help their communities confront, understand, endure and overcome shared challenges.
-
Our View: Make voting easiser
This year’s ballot will not include a proposed constitutional amendment that photo identification be required at the polls in Missouri. Good.
- More Opinion Headlines
-
Our View: Victims should come first
Beryl Makes Landfall on Florida Coast
UN Blames Syrian Forces for Shelling Houla
Raw Video: Gay Protest Blocked in Moscow
Vatican in Chaos After Butler Arrested for Leaks
Jimmy Carter Endorses Egypt's Election Results
Biden Addresses West Point Graduating Class
Dozens of Children Killed in New Syria Attack
Raw Video: Activists Allege Massacre in Syria
NJ Man Charged With Murder in Death of Patz
Support, Fun for Kids of Fallen Soldiers at Camp
Fugitive Penguin Caught, Returned to Aquarium
50 Years Later, Underground Fire Still Burning
Light Show Transforms Sydney Opera House
Raw Video: Unruly Passenger Restrained in Miami
Raw Video: Robber Uses Drive-thru Window
Raw Video: Dragon Arrives at Space Station
Calif.'s Coronado Named Nation's Best Beach
CEO Salaries Become Sore Issue in Labor Disputes
