| Background Smoking Bans
Texas is one of sixteen states that have no state-wide smoking bans; there are twenty-four states that have smoking bans in public buildings, restaurants, and bars.
White states have complete smoking bans, while grey states have no smoking bans. Yellow states have banned smoking in workplaces and restaurants, while red states have only banned smoking in restaurants. South Dakota has a ban on smoking only in workplaces.
As previously noted by Left of College Station, in the state of Texas 59% of all municipalities have some type of smoking ordinance that affects restaurants; only 19% of municipalities in Texas place restaurants under completely smoke free ordinances. However, bars in restaurants fall under some type of smoking ordinance in only 30% of municipalities. In Texas 77% of all municipalities do have a smoking ordinance that affect bars; there are only 23 out of 259 municipalities in Texas that have ordinances requiring bars to be completely smoke free.
Last year Amarillo rejected a smoking ban by 238 votes; according to an article in the Amarillo Globe-News the chairman of a local organization, Breathe Easy Amarillo, has "no plans, at this point, of taking this issue on again in the foreseeable future."
In September of 2005 Austin banned smoking in bars, and after being struck down as unconstitutionally vague by the United States District Court it was reinstated on appeal by the United States Court of Appeals in March of last year.
Health Effects of Smoking Bans
According to a recent study, a smoking ban in Pueblo, Colorado led to a drop in heart attack hospitalizations within three years.
The southern Colorado city saw a 41 percent drop in heart attack hospitalization rates among city residents in the three years after a smoking ban took effect July 1, 2003, according to the report by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
From CDC Reduced Hospitalizations for Acute Myocardial Infarction After Implementation of a Smoke-Free Ordinance Report:
These findings suggest that smoke-free policies can result in reductions in AMI hospitalizations that are sustained over a 3-year period and that these policies are important in preventing morbidity and mortality associated with heart disease. This effect likely is mediated through reduced SHS exposure among nonsmokers and reduced smoking, with the former making the larger contribution.
Smoking Ban Legislation in Texas
House Bill 5, authored by Myra Crownover (R-64), was introduced in the Texas House of Representatives earlier this month; this bill, if signed into law, would ban smoking in all public places and places of employment.
Sec. 169.051. SMOKING PROHIBITED IN PUBLIC PLACES. A person may not smoke in a public place in this state.
Sec. 169.052. SMOKING PROHIBITED IN PLACE OF EMPLOYMENT. A person may not smoke in a place of employment.
Although some will argue otherwise, this is not an issue of civil liberties; this is an issue of public health. The amendment to the ordinance that would ban smoking in public restaurants and bars does not infringe on someone's right to smoke in the same way that not allowing someone to protest in the middle of University Drive does not infringe on someone's First Amendment rights. There are already regulations in place to protect the public's health in restaurants and bars, public health codes prevent unsanitary conditions and protect the public; this regulation will extend the protection of the public health to include protection from second hand smoke.
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