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Action on Smoking and Health
A National Legal-Action Antismoking Organization Entirely Supported by Tax-Deductible Contributions
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Editorial: Enact Statewide Smoking Ban in Wisconsin [04/28-3]
Excerpts from: Editorial: Enact statewide smoking ban
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel [04/25/05]
In Shorewood, Village President Mark Kohlenberg is calling for a ban on smoking
in all public places, with exemptions for the four bars and restaurants where
smoking is now allowed. The effort in Shorewood and other communities in
Wisconsin reflects a growing public awareness of the health danger posed by
secondhand smoke. While these community efforts are useful, the problem they
address is not just local. What is needed is a statewide ban on smoking in all
indoor locations that are accessible to the public.
A bill that would achieve this ambitious but worthwhile goal is being circulated in the Wisconsin Legislature by Rep. Mark Gottlieb (R-Port Washington) and Sen. Alberta Darling (R-River Hills). Although current Wisconsin law bans smoking in many public places, it authorizes smoking areas. The measure backed by Gottlieb and Darling would drastically reduce the number of these exempted places.
Under the bill, smoking would be banned in mass transit vehicles and school buses, schools, movie theaters and government buildings. Significantly, smoking areas would no longer be permitted in offices and other places of employment and in retail establishments, such as restaurants. The proposed law contains no grandfather clause, which means it would apply to all, not just to businesses that open in the future.
The restrictions it would impose may seem harsh, but the health dangers of secondhand smoke are both serious and undeniable. Estimates suggest that at least 53,000 Americans die every year from diseases that result from exposure to secondhand tobacco smoke, according to four groups backing the bill: the American Lung Association, the American Heart Association, the American Cancer Society and Smokefree Wisconsin.
The Environmental Protection Agency has classified secondhand tobacco smoke as a Group A carcinogen, which means it is known to cause cancer in human beings, the four organizations report.
Secondhand smoke in a restaurant, say, affects not just its patrons but its employees. A waitress or a cook is free to get a job in a safer environment, but no one should have to quit his or her job in order to work where breathing the air is not hazardous.
The prohibition would not extend to private homes, of course, unless the residence was an adult day care center. Among other things, a ban on smoking at home would be unenforceable. Also, the ban would not extend to hospitals designed primarily for the treatment of mental illness. It is a carefully focused measure that, if enacted and enforced, would help more people in Wisconsin breathe easier.
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