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Kansas legislators react to smoking ban idea
GARDEN CITY, KAN.
(hppr) -
To smoke or not to smoke. Well, rather if smoking should be allowed in public places is really the question. Kansas Governor Mark Parkinson says when the legislature reconvenes in January he will push for a statewide smoking ban. This issue has been in the senate for the last two years and made it to the house this year but never got out of committee. Representative Jeff Whitham of Garden City thinks it will make it to the floor this year and will probably have enough support to pass.
You know it's one of those bills that has good and bad, two competing natural interests. One folks that work in a place that don't have a choice that would rather not inhale smoke, we've got them in a working environment where they're going to be inhaling smoke and we know from reading that smoking is probably the most voluntary detrimental thing we can do to our health. The other interest of course is folks' ability to do what the heck they want to, a freedom of action.
That right to smoke is what concerns Representative Larry Powell of Garden City who doesn't know why the governor would choose to take up the issue.
Well, you know, I don't know, I don't know why he's wanting to do that, you know, take people's rights away. I'd be more in favor of a statewide abortion ban.
As to those people with the right to be in a smoke-free environment, Powell says they can choose not to go where people smoke. Both representatives have rather different opinions on a public smoking ban, it's interesting to note though, that they both are from Garden City, which has a city-wide smoking ban, as Representative Whitham points out.
I'm from Garden City and as you know we passed a smoking ban that was fairly well accepted in the community. There are folks that don't like it of course, but if you just get down to raw numbers I'm going to guess that 2/3 of the community thought it was just fine.
Whitham says it seems like the fraternal organizations in Garden City had the biggest problem with the smoking ban. Senate bill 25 is the current smoking ban bill in the legislature. It does have several exceptions. If it passed non-profit and profit membership clubs like the American Legion, Elks, and Eagles, could let their members decide on the smoking issue. Also there's an exception for long-term care facilities and gaming floors of casinos. That still would leave restaurants and bars to change their ways if a ban was passed. Amro Samy is the co-owner of the Clarion Inn and Conference Center in Garden City which also has a popular restaurant and bar attached. He thinks the city-wide smoking ban might have hurt local business.
I think on the restaurant side of it and the night club side of it probably hurt our economy a bit. We've been lucky enough here we have the patio but I think it did help our economy a little bit on people coming in and being able to smoke indoors and in today's economy we need every little bit we can get to boost our sales.
Though Samy admits many do enjoy the smoke-free environment, himself included.
It's a flip of a coin, the people who enjoy coming in because there's no smoke and it's a healthier environment they love it and there is I think a lot of these folks who come here because they know they can come here and not go home smelling like a cigarette. I'm not a smoker myself, so I enjoy it.
When the issue of a statewide smoking ban has come up in the past, some legislators said it was an issue better left to local governments. Representative Powell agrees, saying that the state has no business to make this decision. Representative Whitham says leaving it to cities to decide would be the easy way out for legislators, but doing that leaves you with a hopscotch of different rules.
You know you could be in Johnson County and there are probably ten cities or municipalities in Johnson County and depending on where you happen to be you have to figure out what that law on smoking might be. Or you get into competitive problems. One of the problems we had with the Garden City smoking ban was that you could go over to Holcomb and do whatever the heck you want and how is that competitively fair for someone runs a restaurant or a bar.
I'm Lindsey Fields, HPPR News.
© Copyright 2009, hppr
(2009-09-22)
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You know it's one of those bills that has good and bad, two competing natural interests. One folks that work in a place that don't have a choice that would rather not inhale smoke, we've got them in a working environment where they're going to be inhaling smoke and we know from reading that smoking is probably the most voluntary detrimental thing we can do to our health. The other interest of course is folks' ability to do what the heck they want to, a freedom of action.
That right to smoke is what concerns Representative Larry Powell of Garden City who doesn't know why the governor would choose to take up the issue.
Well, you know, I don't know, I don't know why he's wanting to do that, you know, take people's rights away. I'd be more in favor of a statewide abortion ban.
As to those people with the right to be in a smoke-free environment, Powell says they can choose not to go where people smoke. Both representatives have rather different opinions on a public smoking ban, it's interesting to note though, that they both are from Garden City, which has a city-wide smoking ban, as Representative Whitham points out.
I'm from Garden City and as you know we passed a smoking ban that was fairly well accepted in the community. There are folks that don't like it of course, but if you just get down to raw numbers I'm going to guess that 2/3 of the community thought it was just fine.
Whitham says it seems like the fraternal organizations in Garden City had the biggest problem with the smoking ban. Senate bill 25 is the current smoking ban bill in the legislature. It does have several exceptions. If it passed non-profit and profit membership clubs like the American Legion, Elks, and Eagles, could let their members decide on the smoking issue. Also there's an exception for long-term care facilities and gaming floors of casinos. That still would leave restaurants and bars to change their ways if a ban was passed. Amro Samy is the co-owner of the Clarion Inn and Conference Center in Garden City which also has a popular restaurant and bar attached. He thinks the city-wide smoking ban might have hurt local business.
I think on the restaurant side of it and the night club side of it probably hurt our economy a bit. We've been lucky enough here we have the patio but I think it did help our economy a little bit on people coming in and being able to smoke indoors and in today's economy we need every little bit we can get to boost our sales.
Though Samy admits many do enjoy the smoke-free environment, himself included.
It's a flip of a coin, the people who enjoy coming in because there's no smoke and it's a healthier environment they love it and there is I think a lot of these folks who come here because they know they can come here and not go home smelling like a cigarette. I'm not a smoker myself, so I enjoy it.
When the issue of a statewide smoking ban has come up in the past, some legislators said it was an issue better left to local governments. Representative Powell agrees, saying that the state has no business to make this decision. Representative Whitham says leaving it to cities to decide would be the easy way out for legislators, but doing that leaves you with a hopscotch of different rules.
You know you could be in Johnson County and there are probably ten cities or municipalities in Johnson County and depending on where you happen to be you have to figure out what that law on smoking might be. Or you get into competitive problems. One of the problems we had with the Garden City smoking ban was that you could go over to Holcomb and do whatever the heck you want and how is that competitively fair for someone runs a restaurant or a bar.
I'm Lindsey Fields, HPPR News.
© Copyright 2009, hppr
