The nation's capital could join several other cities in banning smoking in indoor restaurants and bars by the end of this year. While initially being opposed to a ban, the city's leaders have seen the light and are now putting the public's health ahead of the status quo.
I don't know of anyone that warms to the smell of burning tobacco or plumes of smoke lingering overhead as you sit down for a meal. Not only does it ruin the atmosphere of a relaxing meal out, it is detrimental to your health. Sure, putting the smokers here and the rest of us 30 feet away seems fine and dandy, but it does nothing for those in the smoking section.
The tobacco companies have also peddled the junk science that says properly ventilating establishments would reduce the impact of smoking on patron's health. That is pure buncombe. The American Society of Heating, Refrigeration and Air-Conditioning Engineers, which sets international air standards contends: "the only way of effectively eliminating health risks associated with indoor exposure is to ban smoking activity."
Moving the air in a building does reduce toxin's concentration, but no one has yet agreed what levels are "safe." Philip Morris even admitted in fine-print that ventilation really does nothing substantial for our health. I mean after all, how can you make smoke's 4,000 chemicals, 69 carcinogens and carbon monoxide safe? The latter kills people every year after leaking in homes. And you want to sit by someone blowing it over your food?
As we have learned from bans imposed in locales such as New York City, indoor pollution levels dropped by 84 percent. This figure is consistent with data from other ban areas.
One of the crutches the tobacco companies and selfish restaurateurs fall back on is that a ban would adversely affect an area's economy. That is a serious accusation since Washington depends heavily on people coming from Maryland, Virginia and the surrounding areas for business. However, research from past bans has shown that in some cases smoking bans have helped the economy.
Harvard studied the ban in Massachusetts and found no negligible effects. New York City saw bar and restaurant tax receipts jump 8.7 percent from April 2003-February 2004 compared to the same time a year before. In addition, a survey of 30,000 New Yorkers found that 23 percent ate more meals out since the ban went into effect.
America is a free country, but Americans should be able to patronize local businesses without smoke dampening the mood and their health. Smoking outside or at home is a person's own business, but adversely affecting the public should not be condoned when we can easily do something about it. The City Council should be commended for taking a good step forward, and hopefully more cities will follow suit and tell smokers to butt out of our meals.
