Northwest Indiana Discussion

Council panel OKs workplace smoking ban
Committee's 4-2 vote follows heated debate on public health versus personal liberties

By Francesca Jarosz
Posted: October 15, 2009

A proposal to ban smoking in nearly all Marion County workplaces received an endorsement from a City-County Council committee Wednesday night.

The 4-2 vote came after three hours of passionate debate about the importance of public health and the value of personal liberty.
More than 200 people, including bar owners and health professionals, packed the Public Assembly Room at the City-County Building to offer testimony. Proponents donned stickers that said, "Make All Indianapolis Workplaces Smoke Free," while opponents sported tags that said, "Save Indianapolis Bars."

The ordinance, which was introduced to the council earlier this month and has received support from leaders of the city's hospitals, would strengthen an existing ordinance prohibiting smoking in most restaurants and public spaces such as hotel lobbies.
It would extend the ban to currently exempted places such as bars, bowling alleys and private clubs. An amendment passed Wednesday reinstated an exemption for cigar and hookah bars, though licenses to operate those establishments would be capped.

The changes would give Indianapolis a comprehensive ban similar to those in 11 other Indiana communities and 26 states, including Illinois and Ohio.

During the hearing, physicians from the Indiana University School of Medicine made a public health case for the ban, including the need to protect employees in workplaces where smoking is allowed.

Dr. Nasser Hanna, an oncologist at IU, pointed to the effects of secondhand smoke, saying about 30 percent of his lung cancer patients never have smoked.

Experts also presented economic arguments for the ban. Dr. Terrell Zollinger, associate director of the Bowen Research Center at IU, said a 2008 study showed health-care and loss-of-life costs caused by secondhand smoke amounted to $319 million for Indiana residents in 2007.
And Eric Wright, director of the Center for Health Policy at IU, said 47 of 49 studies have concluded that smoke-free laws have not adversely affected the hospitality industry.

"This does not hurt businesses," Hanna said. "(Secondhand smoke) does hurt people."

But those points met with resistance from opponents -- including some on the council -- who argued the stronger ordinance would hurt the local economy and hamper personal rights.

"There's absolutely no reason a nonsmoker has to subject himself to the effects of tobacco smoke if he doesn't choose to," said Councilwoman Christine Scales, a Republican, eliciting cheers from the crowd. "We're talking about serious liberty interests at stake here. Where will the nanny state end?"

Local bar owners argued that their businesses, which already have suffered in the tough economy, would take an additional hit under the ban. Jeff Kent, who owns the Wooden Nickel Darts Bar & Grill on Madison Avenue on the Southside, estimated that about 90 percent of his patrons are smokers.

"Most of the people who are for this ban never would be at a bar like mine -- they want to be at a place that's more uppity," Kent said. "If I shut smokers out, I wouldn't survive."

What the ban does

The proposal would strengthen an existing ordinance prohibiting smoking in most workplaces, including restaurants and public spaces such as hotel lobbies. It would extend the ban to currently exempted places such as bars, bowling alleys and private clubs.

An amendment passed Wednesday reinstated an exemption for cigar and hookah bars, though the number of licenses available to operate those establishments would be capped.