Prepared exclusively for BPAA by Berman and Company
October 2005

Harrisburg

Momentum builds for state ban on smoking in public workplace, Lights out?
By Tracie Mauriello, Post-Gazette Harrisburg Bureau, October 30, 2005

HARRISBURG—Mary Molinaro loves bingo, but it’s been ages since she’s played.

“They smoke up a storm in those bingos. It gives me a headache,” said Mrs. Molinaro, 72, of Glassport.

That’s why she’s hoping for the passage of legislation that would prohibit smoking in all public workplaces, including restaurants, stores, sports arenas, bars and, yes, bingo halls.

Violators would be subject to fines of up to $100 for the first violation, $200 for the second violation within one year and $500 for subsequent violations in the same year.

Similar bills have been proposed over the last several years, but they’ve never made it to the floor.

Supporters are encouraged that this legislation seems to have more momentum. It’s the first of its kind to go through a public hearing of the Senate’s Public Health and Welfare Committee, though a vote, if any, wouldn’t happen until next year. A similar bill is under consideration in the House.

Legislators who opposed previous attempts to ban smoking are now reconsidering.

“My initial reaction was that it was a marketplace issue, that businesses should have the freedom to cater to people who smoke,” said Sen. Jake Corman, R-Centre, chairman of the health and welfare committee. “But now I want to know more. If this legislation can be proven to reduce some health-care costs by not subjecting people to secondhand smoke, it’s something we have to look at.”

Legislators also are facing pressure from groups such as the Pittsburgh-based SmokeFree Pennsylvania and from a coalition of religious leaders.

“We feel we have a responsibility to work for the common good, and this is one of those things that will protect people who are vulnerable from the risks of secondhand smoke,” said the Rev. Sandra Strauss, public policy advocate for the Pennsylvania Council of Churches.

With 24.6 percent of Pennsylvanians identifying themselves as smokers according to a Gallup poll, some restaurant and bar owners worry a ban would cause them to lose business, said Kevin Joyce, president-elect of the Pennsylvania Restaurant Association.

“There’s a lot of people [who] don’t smoke at home, [who] can’t smoke in the workplace so they come down after work and have one or two cocktails and one or two cigarettes,” said Mr. Joyce, who owns The Carlton in Pittsburgh. “You take that cigarette out of the equation and, my gut says, you’re not going to come down and have that cocktail.”

Doubtful, says Greg Hartley, assistant director of SmokeFree Pennsylvania.

“People don’t say, ‘I’m going to Joe’s Corner Bar for a cigarette.’ They say, ‘I’m going to have a drink or watch the game,’ “ Mr. Hartley said. “They may have one if they’re there, but they don’t go to have a cigarette.”

In New York City, where there’s been a smoking ban since 2003, restaurant and bar profits are up by 8.7 percent, according to a joint report by the city’s departments of finance, health and mental hygiene, small business services and economic development.

“It’s fear of the unknown that makes restaurants think business will go down if they go smoke-free,” Mr. Hartley said. “Will some businesses lose business? Probably. But most will not, and you don’t make public policy decisions based on the least common denominator.”

Mr. Joyce, though, said the marketplace was sorting out the issue itself, with some restaurants, including his own, going smoke free. He still allows smoking in the bar, but banned smoking in the dining room two years ago because so few customers were requesting seating in the smoking section.

“Every owner or operator should make his own decision, and customers can vote with their feet. There are plenty of choices for customers [who] want nonsmoking environments; and if a guy feels his business is suffering because nonsmokers don’t want to come, he can go smoke free,” Mr. Joyce said.

That argument doesn’t take into account employees of smoking establishments, said Dr. Ronald B. Herberman, director of the University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute and chairman of the Pennsylvania Cancer Control Consortium.

“The most central part of this issue is the health consequences,” he said.

Bartenders, waiters and waitresses are at high risk because they are exposed to secondhand smoke at work, he said.

Mr. Joyce, though, said that argument was disingenuous because the proposed ban would not protect all workers.

“All this is being done under the guise of employee health; but if that’s truly the point, then it’s got to be one size for everyone,” he said. “That means when you’re having a cigarette and the plumber comes to fix your pipes, you can’t smoke in your house because that’s his workplace.”

Proponents of the legislation say they aren’t trying to dictate whether people smoke—only where they do it.

“You can still go to a bar and have a cigarette. You just have to step outside to do it,” Mr. Hartley said.

Nine other states have bans, although some allow exceptions for casinos, stand-alone bars, cigar bars and private clubs.

“Whether we’re to the point where we can get it done in Pennsylvania this session, I don’t know,” Mr. Cormer said. “But, clearly, the momentum is in that direction.”