Sunday, January 14, 2007
Editorial: Snuffing out a bad habit
Sen. Brandon Bell has momentum on his side as he battles to make workplaces smoke-free throughout Virginia.
From the RoundTable blog
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Sen. Brandon Bell, R-Roanoke County, is nothing if not persistent. Which is good, because his crusade to ban smoking in most indoor public places will take plenty of persistence.
Last year, Bell got his bill passed in the Senate, but a House subcommittee unceremoniously killed it.
This year, Bell sees more momentum behind the bill.
A definitive U.S. surgeon general's report on secondhand smoke concluded there is no safe level of exposure.
Gov. Tim Kaine signed an executive order banning smoking in most state buildings.
Finally, two longtime Republican delegates have introduced their own clean indoor bills, signaling a more open attitude in the House.
Even conservative House Majority Leader Morgan Griffith, R-Salem, is getting in on the action, albeit in a counterproductive and misleading way.
Griffith introduced a bill that would nominally prohibit smoking in restaurants. To get around the restriction, though, a restaurant would need only post a sign saying, "Smoking permitted."
Why even bother?
The surgeon general's report alone should be enough to prompt real legislative action -- even in a state with Virginia's long history with tobacco.
The report by Bush appointee Richard H. Carmona was emphatic and unequivocal: Secondhand smoke sickens and kills nonsmokers.
Exposure to secondhand smoke increases risks of heart disease and cancer by 30 percent, leading to 50,000 premature deaths in 2004.
When pregnant women are around secondhand smoke, their babies are at higher risk for sudden infant death syndrome.
The tobacco industry has long denied the danger of secondhand smoke -- just as it long denied the now undisputed danger to smokers.
But that denial is no longer credible. "I am here to say the debate is over: The science is clear," Carmona said when he released his report.
This debate is not, as some would like to frame it, about freedom of choice for smokers. Nor is it about the right of business owners to decide whether they want to allow smoking.
The debate is about workplace safety. No business has a right to unnecessarily subject workers to a hazardous environment.
Smokers have the right to kill themselves slowly if they wish. But they should not be allowed to pollute the air breathed by anyone else.
The momentum is with Bell. If his persistence pays off, it will mean a healthier Virginia.
