Galveston Update
Say NO to smoking ban for eateries!
Council votes to keep ban changes
October 15, 2010
By Ian White, The Daily News
By Ian White, The Daily News
GALVESTON — Despite an outburst of public opinion against Galveston City Council’s September vote to overturn its smoking ban, council members defeated Mayor Joe Jaworski’s effort to find a compromise to the argument Thursday.
Only Councilwoman Elizabeth Beeton voted with him, while Mayor Pro Tem Linda Colbert abstained. Dianna Puccetti, Chris Gonzales, Steve Greenberg and Rusty Legg all voted against his motion to ban indoor smoking in the city’s bars, clubs and restaurants but to allow it on outside patios and at least five feet from the establishments’ front entrances.
After the vote, which visibly upset indoor ban supporters who had waited until 8:30 p.m. to hear it, each of the council members except Jaworski and Beeton explained their stance on the issue.
Puccetti said she believed many businesses would remain smoke-free.
Legg said he had received information that some of the smaller bars will not be going back to smoking.
Gonzales said he encouraged businesses to remain smoke-free, “but it’s not our responsibility to set the rules.”
Greenberg said: “It will probably be some time before it becomes a health issue with the state.”
Colbert said: “During the last council, I voted for the ban across the board and still believe it was a good choice. I wish it had been given more time.
“I believe in public health and public safety, and that’s why I abstained.”
During the public-comment section, all but seven people addressed the smoking ban, with 20 campaigning for reinstating at least an indoor ban and 14 lobbying for bar and tavern owners to decide their own clean-air policy.
As the session began, pro-smoking business owners and representatives took the lead, with Strand bar owner Sandra Bloom the first to raise the subject, claiming the ban instituted Jan. 1 had endangered her business.
Serena Hollenberg, who described herself as a hospitality worker, said she never had seen business fall as fast as it has since the ban and that it was affecting her livelihood.
Sam Collins began the case for at least partially returning to the circumstances before the council’s most recent vote on the issue.
Speaking as a member of the 800-member Galveston Chamber of Commerce, he presented its Aug. 11 resolution calling for a ban on indoor smoking accompanied by reasonable rules for smoking on outdoor patios and near entrance doors, along with a policy for litter control.
Mike Gillett said the Jan. 1 ordinance had not been working and it was a waste of the council’s time still to be debating the issue.
Next up were Galveston Bar and Tavern Owners Association members Steve Everts and David Stanowski, who both spoke in support of the newly adopted ordinance.
They were countered by Lesley Sommer, executive director of the Historic Downtown Strand Seaport Partnership, who said his organization had passed a resolution similar to the chamber of commerce’s in support of an indoor ban.
Then came several University of Texas Medical Branch medics and students, each adamant in their assertion that the issue is a matter of health and not economics.
Against that attitude was Galveston Observer News owner and Editor Harold Thomas, who said in bringing the matter back before the council, Mayor Joe Jaworski reminded him of “a boy who played a game and lost, so he took his ball home” and said changing the September vote would be “going backward instead of forward.”
Galveston Clean Air Project founder Alice Melott said: “If the businesses want to talk what they want, let’s talk what they want. The chamber of commerce and downtown partnership don’t want smoking. At the moment, we’re pandering to the lowest common denominator at the majority’s expense.”
Smoking Ban Gets Semi-Vaporized In Galveston
By Richard Connelly
Sep. 24 2010
Smokers can enjoy a rare victory in the Banning Wars thanks to Galveston.
The city council there ignored the wishes of the new mayor and in a close vote revised the drastic ban on public smoking that had been in effect since the first of the year.
That ban outlawed smiking in bars, restaurants, private clubs — including outdoor seating areas — and within 15 feet of the doorways to such establishments.
The new law greatly eases those rules, to the extent that councilmember Elizabeth Beeton told her colleauges “So basically, we’re going to allow smoking. We’re going back to the `70s.”
“Smokin’ in the Boys Room”!!!
The new ordinance allows smoking in bars that are “adult venues,” which isnt’t as sexy as it sounds. It just means the places don’t allow anyone under 18 inside.
Outdoor seating areas are now fine for smoking, as are private clubs. And the doorway-Siberia guidelines have been reduced from 15 feet to five.
Mayor Joe Jaworski asked the council, according to the Galveston County Daily News, to delay the vote so that organizations like the Chamber of Commerce could weigh in on it, as opposed to just “tavern owners.”
Jaworski said the island’s tourists come from cities like Houston and San Antonio where smoking bans have been in effect for some time, and those visitors might be turned off by eased smoking rules.
Galveston City Council Revises Smoking Ban
Smoking Now Permitted in Businesses that Meet Adult Venue Requirements
September 23, 2010
By Galveston.com
After considerable public comment and discussion the Galveston City Council amended the Island’s existing smoking ordinance tonight. The measure passed with Council members Puccetti, Gonzales, Greenberg, and Legg voting in favor and Council member Beeton, Mayor Pro-Tem Colbert, and Mayor Jaworski casting dissenting votes.
Business owners now have the option to meet the City’s “adult venue” definition and allow smoking within their establishments. The revised ordinance will take effect 10 days from the date of posting.
Amendments to Chapter 11.5 of Galveston’s code, “Clean Air: Smoking in Public Places”:
• Smoking is now allowed in bars that meet adult venue requirements. Signage must be posted prohibiting persons under the age of 18 from entering the establishment.
• Smoking is now allowed in private clubs, fraternal organizations, and outdoor seating areas.
• On-premise alcohol consumption is now allowed in retail tobacco shops.
• Smoking is now prohibited within five (5) feet of a doorway or window (in proximity to an establishment where smoking is prohibited).
Galveston’s smoking ban was originally passed in July of 2009 and took effect on January 1st
of this year. The ordinance previously prohibited smoking in bars, restaurants, private clubs,
and outdoor seating areas, as well as areas within 15 feet of a doorway or window (in
proximity to an establishment where smoking is prohibited). In December 2009 the ordinance
was amended to allow smoking in retail tobacco shops on the condition that on-premise
alcohol consumption is prohibited and persons under the age of 18 are barred from entering
the establishment.
Galveston considers a Smoking Ban Point of view
March 6, 2007
The city council seems open to being a little less restrictive than earlier conciderations (10/19/2005)
It looks like they are going, to make a no smoking ban, but the city council seems open to being a little less restrictive than earlier considerations according to Daily News.
The city council is planning a town meeting on a proposal to ban smoking in bars, restaurants and other public spaces.
However, council members made clear Thursday they are likely to settle for an ordinance that does considerably less.
They hope to use public comments from a meeting next month to fashion an ordinance.
Months ago, the council began tossing around an ordinance banning smoking indoors in all public spaces.
But as members began hearing from business owners and others, they began to soften their stance.
“”I think having a zero-tolerance policy would be harmful to some small businesses”,” Mayor Lyda Ann Thomas said Thursday.
Councilman Danny Weber said: ““I think a total ban is a bad idea at this point in time.”
Most of the other members of the council said they agreed.
Except Jackie Cole.
““Less than 20 percent of the population smokes,”” she said. ““So you’’ve got 80 percent of the population, — if they choose to go out, they have to be exposed to this.””
Thomas proposed to allow smoking in stand-alone bars. In restaurants, smoking areas would have to be in areas separated from nonsmoking areas with walls and their own air-handling systems.
“We need to give people time to do this,”” she said.
The rest of the council seemed to agree, but that raised doubts about the necessity of a new ordinance.
““I don’’t know if what you’’ve got right now is any different,”” said Assistant City Attorney Mike Miller.
I don’t see the need for all of this. If it becomes important to customers, then it becomes important to the proprietors. I don’t understand why the bussiness owners can’t make these decisions. Those who visit this blog and pay any attention to the little photo on the right hand side, might figure out that I enjoy a good cigar now and then. I won’t go to a watering hole if I can’t enjoy a cigar with my my beverage. The two just go together for me. Now if a bar doesn’t want people smoking in their place of business, thats perfectly fine with me. I just will not go there. If some doesn’t like smokey bars or restraunts they shouldn’t go to smokey bars or restraunts, let the market dictate. We don’t need Mayor Thomas’ City council telling busineses how to operate. I do think we need to remember Jackie Cole come election time.
There will be a public meeting at the gymnasium at the Island Community Center, 4700 Broadway in Galveston. 6 p.m. Nov. 1. Its an opportunity to let the city leaders know what you think.
Smoking ban rejected
February 24, 2006
Laura Elder
GALVESTON – After 11 months of discussion, petitions and passionate rhetoric, the Galveston City Council rejected an ordinance that would have banned smoking in restaurants, bars and most other public places.
Laura Elder
GALVESTON – After 11 months of discussion, petitions and passionate rhetoric, the Galveston City Council rejected an ordinance that would have banned smoking in restaurants, bars and most other public places.
The decision, a complete turnaround from what was expected, left the city where it began nearly a year ago – with relatively strict smoking bans that rarely are enforced and of which few residents and even businesses are aware.
City council members also promised to revisit the ban on smoking in restaurants, which launched the whole issue months ago before it morphed into a proposed prohibition so far-reaching it would have stamped out smoking in bars, bowling alleys, bingo halls, boxing arenas and other public places.
By the meeting’s end, council members directed City Manager Steve LeBlanc to begin enforcing smoking laws that have been on the books since 1988. One existing law requires businesses where smoking is banned to display “No Smoking” signs and offer receptacles for smokers to extinguish cigarettes.
For years, the city, which came out ahead of smoking bans across the state and around the world, has forbidden lighting up in city parks, a law few smokers have heeded.
The vote to reject the far-reaching ban came after intense and sometimes emotional arguments from the medical community and business owners to smokers and nonsmokers. The crowd filled one room and spilled into another. Representatives from The American Cancer Society and other advocacy groups attended the hearing. Camps on both sides had collected thousands of names on petitions.
“I smoke and I vote,” one island resident told the council.
During the public hearing, participants argued about free enterprise, intrusive government, health issues and economics.
“Let us keep our rights and our customers’ right to choose,” said Sandra Christiansen, who with her daughter, Terri Hadley, owns The Diner, 1017 61st St.
Members of the medical community offered statistics about the dangers of secondhand smoke and deaths associated with passive smoke. Bar and restaurant owners said a complete ban would kill business.
Ball High School student Chad Hughes, 16, urged the city council to approve a complete smoking ban. Hughes told of his experiences in restaurants where the nonsmoking section didn’t protect him from cigarette smoke.
“Don’t I have the right to breathe clean air in a nonsmoking section?” he said. “Don’t let the selfish behavior of others affect my health.”
Dr. William Au, a professor of preventive medicine at the University of Texas Medical Branch, told council members he had seen the affects of smoking and of secondhand smoke.
Au said the proposed ordinance was a health issue, not about rights of smokers and nonsmokers.
“It’s an important decision that calls for leadership,” Au said.
Vance Redden, an island resident whose larynx was removed because of cancer, and who was forced to use an electronic device to speak, surprised everyone by criticizing the proposed ordinance.
After the vote, council member Joe Jaworski, who voted for the smoking ban, said the city was delaying the inevitable.
“It’s the future folks; it’s going to happen,” he said.
Mayor Lyda Ann Thomas, who is a cancer survivor and former smoker, said she voted against the ban because the issue boiled down to choice. Thomas also said she wasn’t comfortable with a city council using its power to tell businesses what to do about smoking.
“I can choose,” Thomas said. “I don’t go where there’s smoking.”
Supporters of the proposed smoking ordinance left disappointed.
Desireé Gonzales of Houston Communities for Safe Indoor Air said Hispanic women, who are heavily represented in the service industry, have some of the lowest smoking rates. But they have the least protection at work when it comes to secondhand smoke, she said.
Gonzales said private business prevailed over a public health issue.
“I’m disappointed,” she said.
City council members aren’t likely to drop the issue cold turkey. And there is talk of petition drives to force a public vote on the issue.
Council members said they would again take up the issue.
“I have no problem with starting all over again,” council member Cornelia Harris-Banks said.
Galveston council rejects smoking ban
Feb. 24, 2006
GALVESTON- Smoking will still be allowed in restaurants and bars after the Galveston City Council rejected a comprehensive smoking ban.
The council voted not to change the city”s current smoking ordinance, which prohibits smoking in public buildings and city parks but allows restaurants to maintain smoking and non-smoking areas.
The proposed change would have banned smoking in restaurants, bars and other public places, such as bowling alleys, bingo halls and boxing arenas.
After nearly a year of discussion and two hours of debate on Thursday, the council rejected the change by a vote of 4-2 with one abstention.
Mayor Lyda Ann Thomas cited personal choice and the rights of business owners as reasons for her vote against the ban.
“I can choose,” Thomas said. “I don”t go where there”s smoking.”
Backers of the smoking ban argued that secondhand smoke is harmful to nonsmokers and should be eliminated from bars and restaurants to protect customers and employees.
Dr. William Au, a professor of preventive medicine at the University of Texas Medical Branch, said the smoking ban was a matter of health, not the rights of smokers or nonsmokers.
“It is an important decision and calls for leadership,” he said.
Galveston restaurant owners rallied against the ban.
Steve Greenberg, a lobbyist for Landry”s Restaurants Inc., said the company was opposed to the ban for its hotel restaurants and bars in Galveston.
Also opposed was Gus Taylor, who said at least 50 percent of customers at his bar, The Stork Club, are smokers.
“I can”t survive without their business,” he said.
Council members who supported the ban promised to revisit the issue. Council member Joe Jaworski said a stiffer ban is inevitable.
“It”s the future folks; it”s going to happen,” he said.
Smoking ban for Galveston eateries rejected
2/24/06
Smoking will still be allowed in restaurants and bars after the Galveston City Council rejected a comprehensive smoking ban.
The council voted not to change the city”s current smoking ordinance, which prohibits smoking in public buildings and city parks but allows restaurants to maintain smoking and non-smoking areas.
The proposed change would have banned smoking in restaurants, bars and other public places, such as bowling alleys, bingo halls and boxing arenas.
After nearly a year of discussion and two hours of debate on Thursday, the council rejected the change by a vote of 4-2 with one abstention.
Mayor Lyda Ann Thomas cited personal choice and the rights of business owners as reasons for her vote against the ban. “I can choose,” Thomas said. “I don”t go where there”s smoking.”
Backers of the smoking ban argued that secondhand smoke is harmful to nonsmokers and should be eliminated from bars and restaurants to protect customers and employees.
Dr. William Au, a professor of preventive medicine at the University of Texas Medical Branch, said the smoking ban was a matter of health, not the rights of smokers or nonsmokers.
“It is an important decision and calls for leadership,” he said.
Galveston restaurant owners rallied against the ban.
Steve Greenberg, a lobbyist for Landry”s Restaurants Inc., said the company was opposed to the ban for its hotel restaurants and bars in Galveston.
Also opposed was Gus Taylor, who said at least 50 percent of customers at his bar, The Stork Club, are smokers.
“I can”t survive without their business,” he said.
Council members who supported the ban promised to revisit the issue. Council member Joe Jaworski said a stiffer ban is inevitable.
“It”s the future folks; it”s going to happen,” he said.
Smoking still OK in Galveston bars
Hospitality interests fought a total ban proposal
Hospitality interests fought a total ban proposal
Feb. 23, 2006
By KEVIN MORAN
By KEVIN MORAN
GALVESTON – Customers at Galveston bars and restaurants can continue to smoke in designated areas, the Galveston City Council decided Thursday.
In a 4-2 vote, with one abstention, the council refused to change the current smoking ordinance, which allows restaurants to maintain smoking and non-smoking dining areas and let customers smoke in their bars.
The proposal to ban smoking in bars, taverns and restaurant bars met opposition from individual bar owners and heavy hitters in the restaurant and hotel business in this tourist city.
“I can assure you if Mr. Fertitta thought that banning smoking would help his business, he certainly would do that,” said Steve Greenberg, a lobbyist for Landry”s Restaurants Inc.
Greenberg referred to Landry”s CEO Tilman Fertitta, who opposes banning smoking in the hotel and restaurant bars the company operates on the island. Greenberg said Fertitta does not believe bans improve bar and restaurant businesses.
Renee Adame, speaking for billionaire developer George Mitchell, whose three island hotels and associated bars and restaurants are smoke-free, said business is better since the businesses banned smoking on the premises.
“Mr. Mitchell thinks it”s good for business,” said Adame, who also heads the Smoke-Free Galveston Coalition. “We don”t have to speculate because we have proof.”
Guy Taylor, three-year owner of The Stork Club, a popular bar on Postoffice, told the council at least 50 percent of his customers smoke.
“I can”t survive without their business,” Taylor said. “I probably won”t (survive) the rest of the year in business and everything I have, everything I own, is invested in this business.”
Backers of a smoking ban were adamant that secondhand smoke is harmful to nonsmokers and should be eliminated from bars and restaurants to protect not only customers but also employees.
“Cigarettes are the most dangerous consumer products in the world,” M.D. Anderson Cancer Center”s Dr. Jack Dennington told the council.
“If all the chemicals in secondhand smoke were bottled up and sprayed in somebody”s face, I”m sure that it would be an assault,” said Galveston resident Deborah Conrad.
After nearly a year of discussion and almost two hours of public comment, the council ended up keeping the Galveston ordinance originally adopted in 1988. It bans smoking in public buildings and most buildings open to the public. It also bans smoking in parks, but that provision has rarely been enforced.
Mayor Lyda Ann Thomas, a colon cancer survivor, said she did not want to tell business owners how to operate.
“I can choose where I go, and I don”t go where there is smoke,” said Thomas, explaining her vote against the ban. “I have to step into the shoes of the small business man and say, ”Thou shalt not,” and I just can”t do it.”
Other council members said they did not want to tell owners how to run their businesses. They also want to tell customers they have choices on which businesses to patronize.
“You choose to or you choose not to go into that hazard,” said Councilwoman Barbara Roberts, referring to secondhand smoke.
After the vote, Thomas said she regretted making no progress on the issue in nearly a year. Thomas and other council members had talked earlier in the day about compromising and banning smoking only in restaurant bars. They did not vote on that alternative on Thursday, however.
“I”m disappointed in that we were not able to pass the no-smoking-in-restaurants piece of this today,” Thomas said.
Ban a good example of bad government
By Dolph Tillotson
The Daily News
February 23, 2006
The Daily News
February 23, 2006
Most people I know who favor the city of Galveston’s proposed anti-smoking ordinance have not read it.
Strangely, they support the law, regardless of flaws. Nobody wants to be against “clean air.” Well, how about being opposed to old-fashioned stupidity?
The law would make smoking illegal not just in restaurants and bars, which is what most people seem to think. It would make smoking illegal in nearly every public and private corner of Galveston.
The law says, “Smok-ing shall be prohibited in all enclosed facilities within places of employment.” Notice the word “all.” In most cases, the law would make smoking illegal in your private office (unless the only people who go there are smokers and no smoke can escape into the rest of the business).
In addition, “Smoking shall be prohibited in parks and in the seating areas of all outdoor arenas, stadiums and amphitheaters.” Public parks? Is it just me, or does this seem a bit broad?
In addition, “Smoking shall be prohibited within a reasonable distance of 5 feet of any entrance or exit door or wheelchair ramp serving the door …” The Daily News, which has been smoke-free for nearly 20 years, will have to relocate its designated outdoor smoking area.
Those smokers, despised and shunned, can just go stand in the rain.
The law requires businesses to spend their money posting a batch of new signs and even describes them. Somebody in the sign business will make a bundle. Small businesses will pay the tab.
Of course, somebody’s got to enforce this law, which won’t be easy because it is sweepingly broad. That “somebody” is the Galveston Police Department, which cannot seem to eradicate murder, drug dealing or illegal parking.
By the way, the ordinance goes on, if you want to turn somebody in, just call the city manager’s office. Steve LeBlanc is widely known as a man with time on his hands. Surely he will find no problem dealing with employees turning in employers who happen to make them mad.
And if that’s not enough, “an employee or private citizen may bring legal action to enforce this chapter.” More lawsuits – that’s what America needs.
A person who “intentionally, knowingly or recklessly” smokes in a prohibited area can be fined $50 per offense. I wonder how the city will prove a person’s intention, knowledge and recklessness. Maybe that’s quibbling.
Finally, if the smoking cops catch a violation in your business, you can be fined $100 for the first offense, $200 for the second and $500 for every offense thereafter. One wonders if the city will collect those fines with the same success it collects parking tickets (it just wrote off $3 million worth).
What’s wrong with all this? Plenty, starting with the fact that people in Galveston can now choose to go to many smoke-free businesses. That’s a matter of choice – the business owners’ and the customers’ – and it’s as it should be.
The city’s “solution” – as released this week – is overly broad and unenforceable. It will cause many to scoff, just as they currently scoff at the city’s lame attempts to enforce parking fees. It is not a solution to anything, but it is yet another intrusion of government authority into an area that should be left to personal choice.
Dolph Tillotson is president and publisher of The Daily News.
Council favors strict smoking ban
Daily News – Galveston County – TX,USA
GALVESTON — The Galveston City Council again appears to be poised to ban smoking in bars, restaurants and other indoor, public spaces. …
The Galveston City Council is considering a more restrictive smoking ordinance.
Critics Of Smoking Ban Are Not Being Heard
February 6, 2006
The Daily News recently provided its readers with a front-page article concerning the group that advocates a complete ban on smoking in Galveston “not being heard” (The Daily News, Jan. 31).
I would advocate that those who do not want additional bans on smoking are not being heard.
Going back to the numbers on safety, less than 3 percent to 3 per thousand of the people in Galveston would be affected by a ban on secondhand cigarette smoking. That’s less than one person in 30 years to 300 years.
How does such a limited ban have any meaning?
Who brought this to the table for discussion? Why Galveston, why now?
There is no expert in the world who can affirm a single fatality from secondhand smoke from Galveston restaurants or bars.
Instead of The Daily News dealing in the fear and misrepresentation game, why don’t we get down to the facts?
Richard Jackson Galveston
Public should vote on proposed smoking ban
Published November 20, 2005
By Herber Taylor
By Herber Taylor
The Galveston City Council should put a proposed smoking ordinance before the voters.
It’s an idea that Mayor Lyda Ann Thomas has floated. And it’s a good one.
The council, which will meet on Tuesday because of the holiday, has talked about adopting a stronger ordinance.
The seven council members could do that.
But a public vote would give the ordinance more legitimacy.
That legitimacy comes in a couple of ways.
If the council enacted a smoking ban, it might be challenged in court. A public vote, rather than a council vote, might discourage such a challenge.
Far more importantly, this is an attempt to regulate social behavior. Rules made by a majority of residents carry more weight.
If you doubt that, consider how this ordinance is likely to be enforced. Won’t it be by social pressure? Or do you really believe that the city has enough enforcement officers to keep all those tourists from lighting up?
Even if the council declines to put the issue to a public vote, the public might insist on voting anyway. Voters in other cities have.
In Corpus Christi, the city council adopted a smoking ordinance. Voters forced a referendum to repeal it, but most voters supported the ordinance.
Lubbock had a similar experience.
In Austin, the city council adopted an ordinance, but the voters wanted a stricter one. The public got a stronger ordinance by referendum.
In Amarillo, voters initiated a drive for a smoking ordinance. That referendum failed.
Voters in different cities have made different decisions. But in each of these cases, the matter was put to a popular vote.
If the council puts the matter on the ballot in May, the public won’t have to bear the cost of a special election. If the council gets a proposed ordinance out by January, the voters will have time to debate it.
The devil will be in the details of the ordinance.
Some people favor a ban of smoking from all public places. They point out that the council has a duty to protect the public’s health as well as the public’s safety.
Others, including this newspaper, have argued that businesses in Galveston already provide a choice. Some allow smoking, while others don’t. The argument is that businesses are in a better position than the council to decide what their customers want.
That line of this debate asks a voter to weigh his concern for public health against his aversion to interfering with private business.
But what about an ordinance that gave people additional protections and business owners some options?
What about an ordinance that allowed smoking in bars but banned smoking from public dining rooms? And what if it allowed business owners to permit smoking in separate, enclosed dining rooms or outdoors?
Wouldn’t you like to hear the public debate on that?
City of Galveston considers smoking ban
(11/02/05 – KTRK/GALVESTON, TX) – Galveston residents are speaking out about a possible smoking ordinance in bars and restaurants on the island.
(11/02/05 – KTRK/GALVESTON, TX) – Galveston residents are speaking out about a possible smoking ordinance in bars and restaurants on the island.
“Smoking is a person”s choice and that”s all,” said one upset Galveston resident we spoke with. “Don”t take away something else from us.”
The City of Galveston held a public hearing Tuesday to discuss a proposed ordinance that would ban smoking completely in bars, restaurants and other public buildings.
Smoking is allowed in Galveston bars, but there is a partial smoking ban in restaurants. The Galveston city will draft an ordinance then hold another public hearing in December or January.
TAKE IT OUTSIDE ANTI-SMOKERS:
THIS IS NOT A HEALTH ISSUE
THIS IS NOT A HEALTH ISSUE
October 24, 2005
Smoking bans in restaurants and bars are not a health issue. The proof
comes when you compare it to any other legitimate health issue that is
regulated in such establishments.
comes when you compare it to any other legitimate health issue that is
regulated in such establishments.
What is regulated is standards of sanitation. Unwanted bacteria, insects
and rodents, to name a few. These standards are universal and no one will
disagree with their need.
and rodents, to name a few. These standards are universal and no one will
disagree with their need.
Protecting against universally understood risks do no have to be sold, like
one would sell pots and pans. But that is exactly what is happening. From
state to state and city to city, anti-smoking special interest groups are
selling an idea that they can”t even show with real world proof causes what
they claim. If passive smoking really kills where is the documented
evidence? Will names, addresses and health records of the dead be made
available? Or are the harms based on mathematical theories that are called
fact but do not take into account real world conditions?
one would sell pots and pans. But that is exactly what is happening. From
state to state and city to city, anti-smoking special interest groups are
selling an idea that they can”t even show with real world proof causes what
they claim. If passive smoking really kills where is the documented
evidence? Will names, addresses and health records of the dead be made
available? Or are the harms based on mathematical theories that are called
fact but do not take into account real world conditions?
So, do smoking bans cause losses in restaurants and bars? One point that
proves the answer is yes is lawsuits. Litigation is not something done for
fun. It is risky and very expensive. Yet lawsuits have been filed from
Washington state to Florida and from Arizona to Massachusetts over
mandatory smoking bans. Millions sometimes are invested in these
businesses and the owners feel they have no other choice. They feel they
should maintain the freedom to do what is best for their own business and
private property.
proves the answer is yes is lawsuits. Litigation is not something done for
fun. It is risky and very expensive. Yet lawsuits have been filed from
Washington state to Florida and from Arizona to Massachusetts over
mandatory smoking bans. Millions sometimes are invested in these
businesses and the owners feel they have no other choice. They feel they
should maintain the freedom to do what is best for their own business and
private property.
There is a very powerful coalition who want to expand the powers of public
health at the expense of hard working men and women in this nation. This
political cancer must be stopped!
health at the expense of hard working men and women in this nation. This
political cancer must be stopped!
Take it outside anti-smokers!
Dave Pickrell
President and founder
Smokers Fighting Discrimination, Inc.
A not for profit organization
P O Box 5472
Katy, Tx 77491
Phone: Day: 713-977-2456 Eve: 281-347-8780
Email: sfdsmoke@hal-pc.org
President and founder
Smokers Fighting Discrimination, Inc.
A not for profit organization
P O Box 5472
Katy, Tx 77491
Phone: Day: 713-977-2456 Eve: 281-347-8780
Email: sfdsmoke@hal-pc.org
SFD is 100% grassroots funded.
Pickrell has been an unpaid activist for the fair treatment of smokers
since 1993 and a crusader against the use of junk science in public policy
matters.
Pickrell has been an unpaid activist for the fair treatment of smokers
since 1993 and a crusader against the use of junk science in public policy
matters.
Anti-smokers Can’t Back Their Claims
October 28, 2005 By Dave Pickrell
Smoking bans in restaurants and bars are not a health issue.
October 28, 2005 By Dave Pickrell
Smoking bans in restaurants and bars are not a health issue.
Town meeting set on smoking ban
By Marty Schladen
The Daily News
Published October 17, 2005
The Daily News
Published October 17, 2005
GALVESTON – The city council is planning a town meeting on a proposal to ban smoking in bars, restaurants and other public spaces.
However, council members made clear Thursday they are likely to settle for an ordinance that does considerably less.
They hope to use public comments from a meeting next month to fashion an ordinance.
Months ago, the council began tossing around an ordinance banning smoking indoors in all public spaces.
But as members began hearing from business owners and others, they began to soften their stance.
“I think having a zero-tolerance policy would be harmful to some small businesses,” Mayor Lyda Ann Thomas said Thursday.
Councilman Danny Weber said: “I think a total ban is a bad idea at this point in time.”
Most of the other members of the council said they agreed.
Except Jackie Cole.
“Less than 20 percent of the population smokes,” she said. “So you’ve got 80 percent of the population – if they choose to go out, they have to be exposed to this.”
Thomas proposed to allow smoking in stand-alone bars. In restaurants, smoking areas would have to be in areas separated from nonsmoking areas with walls and their own air-handling systems.
“We need to give people time to do this,” she said.
The rest of the council seemed to agree, but that raised doubts about the necessity of a new ordinance.
“I don’t know if what you’ve got right now is any different,” said Assistant City Attorney Mike Miller.
+++
What: Public meeting on proposed ban on indoor smoking.
When: 6 p.m. Nov. 1.
Where: The gymnasium at the Island Community Center, 4700 Broadway in Galveston.
When: 6 p.m. Nov. 1.
Where: The gymnasium at the Island Community Center, 4700 Broadway in Galveston.
There’s an easier way than a ban on smoking
By Michael A. Smith
April 23, 2005
April 23, 2005
Two or three decades ago Galveston City Council’s proposed ban on tobacco smoking might have been useful public policy. Today, it will do little except restrict the way some people choose to live. The proposal looks a little like a government attempting to create the impression of having done something, without actually having to do anything.
The ordinance would ban tobacco smoking in all public buildings, including freestanding bars and bars in restaurants.
Council member Barbara Roberts said she had “talked to several restaurant owners … and they’re all in favor of it.”
“I haven’t talked to anyone who is against it,” she said.
I’ll bet there are some. The world has changed a lot since people became aware of the very serious health effects of smoking and second-hand smoke. The habit has fallen out of fashion, compared to decades ago, and today it might be easier to find smoke-free eateries than it is to find those where smokers are welcome.
Some restaurants, cafés and diners make it their business to accommodate smokers; it’s a form of niche marketing. To some people, a greasy diner breakfast just is not complete without a smoke. It’s not healthy, but how worried about health is a person, really, if he’s forking down three fried eggs, four slices of bacon, a pork sausage patty and pancakes? More on point, if you don’t like the place where the smokers go, go elsewhere. Likewise, some eateries are big enough to accommodate both smokers and nonsmokers.
Why should the government tell our theoretical diner it can’t cater to smokers, or tell the owner of a large, well-ventilated building he can’t try to please both?
Maybe, as Roberts suggests, most of Galveston’s restaurateurs would rather people didn’t smoke in their buildings. I have a suggestion for them – hang a sign that says “No Smoking.”
No businessman wants to appear to tell people they’re not welcome, so maybe those restaurateurs want the government to give them some political cover.
There may have been a time 20 or 30 years ago, when an ordinance would have allowed restaurants to do right by nonsmokers without creating a competitive disadvantage for themselves. Those days are done; business owners should be able to police smoking, or not, themselves.
Speaking of police, suppose the council approved a ban and a gang of outlaw smokers descended on some local eatery, should the manager call the police? Will policing smokers be added to the long list of things – panhandlers, prostitutes, etc. – that the police department lacks the manpower to address?
And for the council: Is this really what you should be spending time on? You remind me of a temperance league marching past the starving widows and homeless orphans to beat tambourines and sing hymns in front of a tobacco shop.
http://galvestondailynews.com/story.lasso?ewcd=ac73904a3841963f
http://galvestondailynews.com/story.lasso?ewcd=ac73904a3841963f
Council to go all the way with smoking ban
By Marty Schladen
The Daily News
April 15, 2005
The Daily News
April 15, 2005
GALVESTON – Sometime in the next two months, the city council is likely to ban smoking in all public buildings.
Council members came to a consensus Thursday that a total ban was preferable to a partial one similar to the ordinance passed last month by the city of Houston. That ordinance bans smoking in restaurants, but not in free-standing bars or in bars within restaurants.
The city council has been kicking around the idea of a ban since last month. When she first raised the issue, Mayor Lyda Ann Thomas asked the public to give their input to the city council.
On Thursday, the city council said the reaction had been largely positive.
“I’ve talked to several restaurant owners on the island and they’re all in favor of it,” Councilwoman Barbara Roberts said. “I haven’t talked to anyone who is against it.”
Councilwoman Patricia Bolton-Legg said the only opposition she had heard was from the Texas Restaurant Association.
After discussing the relative weakness of the Houston ordinance, Thomas said she wanted Galveston to adopt something different.
“I am of a mind that we should go for a total ban,” she said.
When Thomas asked the rest of the city council whether it would support such a stringent measure, members Joe Jaworski, Jackie Cole, Cornelia Harris Banks, Roberts and Bolton-Legg all indicated that they did.
Thomas then instructed City Attorney Susie Green to draft an ordinance banning smoking in all public buildings. It will also answer such questions as how many feet from the entrance of a public building smoking will be banned, how much violators will be fined and who will be responsible for enforcement.
At Cole’s suggestion, the city council said it would wait about six weeks before considering a ban so that it, the American Cancer Society and the University of Texas Medical Branch could educate the public on the virtues of a ban.
http://galvestondailynews.com/story.lasso?ewcd=355dde9383d8603d
http://galvestondailynews.com/story.lasso?ewcd=355dde9383d8603d
