Have you wondered why Richardson has not banned smoking in public places, when almost all Metroplex cities took care of this some time ago?

 

Are you tired of not being able to go to many popular Richardson eating and drinking establishments because you have to fumigate your clothes and take a shower afterward?

 

Are you fully aware of the lethal health risks from second hand smoke?

 

Amazingly, Chili’s, Applebee’s, Pappasitos, Texas Land and Cattle, WW Fairfields, Swan Court, Fox and Hound, Humperdinks, The Billiard Den, Southern Recipe Café, McCarty's, Main Street Liquid Co., Texas Smokehouse, Grandy's, International House of Pancakes and nearly 35 more Richardson establishments still allow smoking. Even the bowling alley where we want to have parties for our children is a smoke pit. Outdoors at Wildflower, soccer games, the entrances to buildings, we have to walk through toxic clouds of tobacco smoke. Why do we put up with it?

 

Why should the 18% of the population that smokes ruin the eating, drinking and recreational experience, and create health risks, for the 82% * who do not smoke?

 

This issue goes beyond simply the unpleasant smell of smoke. Smoke pollution is enough to trigger allergic reactions, impaired breathing and flu symptoms in many people. Outdoors, smoking results in castoff butts on the ground, stained stairwells, and other smoking-related trash. These are reasons enough to eliminate smoking, and to clean up the places that now allow it.

 

Unfortunately, tobacco smoke is much worse than stink and irritation. It is proven that smoking causes cancer, emphysema, heart disease, premature birth, and many other severe illnesses. Since 1965, Federal law has required warning labels on tobacco products!

 

 

Less well known is that second hand smoke is also a proven carcinogen, and a primary cause of asthma in children and adults. All of these same health risks are inflicted by smokers upon non-smokers.

Deaths in Texas From Smoking					Each Year	Each Day
						rounded
Adults who die each year and day from their own smoking					24,200	66
Adults, children & babies who die each year and day from					2,660 to 4,720	7 to 12
other's smoking (secondhand smoke & pregnancy smoking)
					Source:
Kids now under 18 and alive in Texas who will				503,000	www.tobaccofreekids.org
ultimately die prematurely from smoking

 

Yes, people have a right to smoke. However, they decidedly should not have a right to inflict potentially lethal harm on innocent bystanders, especially children. Second hand smoke is deadly. All of our citizens should have the basic right to breathe clean air. 

 

 

Entire countries, including England, Ireland, France, New Zealand, and most of Australia and Canada have enacted these laws. In the United States, 20 states, including Florida, New York, Illinois, and Louisiana are totally smoke-free! In addition to those 20 states, another 8 states including California and Colorado prohibit smoking in restaurants and bars. That is 28 states which have strong smoke free laws!

 

Here in Texas, numerous cities have enacted strong smoke free ordinances that prohibit smoking in all workplaces including restaurants and bars: Abilene, Austin, Baytown, Beaumont, Benbrook, Copperas Cove, El Paso, Houston, Laredo, Marshall, Pasadena, Pearland, Plano, Socorro, Southlake, Vernon and Victoria.

 

Because nearby cities have enacted smoke free ordinances, a sad consequence for Richardson has been that many of the smokers are now coming here, making our problem worse.

 

The Texas strong smoke-free ordinance has been perfected. It has withstood all legal challenges, and has worked for many years. If the City of Richardson adopts the Plano ordinance and expands the distance from building entrances to 50 feet, we will have the most progressive and green ordinance in the state. We could be very proud of that. Such an ordinance would be strongly positive for economic development. The announcement would generate substantial favorable publicity for Richardson.

 

The Plano ordinance, science facts, and proof that strong smoke free ordinances do not damage bars and restaurants may be found at

 http://www.plano.gov/Departments/Health/smokingordinanceinfo/

 

Please don’t count on the State of Texas doing anything about this. The Legislature does not meet again until 2009. They are highly unlikely to do anything to damage the more than $1.3 billion (source: Texas State Comptroller) in tobacco taxes collected in 2007 by the State.

 

Please don’t believe that there will be a successful Metroplex-wide smoke free ordinance. That really is a pipe dream, to imagine that 40 different City Councils could agree on one ordinance. Just waiting for the hearings could take years.

 

Our City of Richardson elected officials should not delay enacting a strong smoke free ordinance because they hope state-wide or Metroplex-wide initiatives will make the decision for them. We need our City Council to enact a strong smoke free ordinance now.

 

Please do your part to get rid of the new SOBs - "Smoking Oriented Businesses". Our community will be healthier and more productive. A strong smoke-free ordinance is something we can do at the local level, and we must act now.

 

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Talking points for a smoke-free Richardson:

1. Second hand smoke is a proven carcinogenic threat.

2. Smokers create extraordinary costs in the health care system, which all of us pay for.

3. Smoking smells and is invasive.

4. 82% * of our citizens do not smoke.

5. This is not a “personal liberty” issue because we are not trying to stop smoking entirely. We only want to stop people from inflicting their smoking on others. As the old saying goes: “Your right to swing your arm ends at the tip of my nose.” Same with tobacco smoke.

6. Most cities have experienced increases in bar and restaurant business several months after a smoke-free ordinance is implemented, as non-smokers (the majority) increasingly patronize the establishments.

7. Cleaning costs for buildings, bars and restaurants decline when tobacco is eliminated.

8. Green is in. Environmental issues now are key drivers of economic development.

9. Plano has implemented a strong smoke-free ordinance that works and has withstood all challenges. New bars and restaurants have opened since the ordinance went into effect. Richardson could improve the Plano ordinance to increase smoking setbacks to 50 feet from building entrances.

* Source: http://www.tobaccofreekids.org/reports/settlements/toll.php?StateID=TX  Shows 81.9% of adults in Texas are non-smokers. Non-smoking is highly correlated to household income and education levels. Because Richardson has higher average household income and education levels than the Texas state-wide averages, our adult non-smoking population is probably higher than 81.9%. Because this figure does not include children, the percentage of all citizens who do not smoke would be higher than 82%.